Yabai Koi Series
A/N: Hi there! Sorry for the sudden disappearance. I was busy with final year projects and assignments and I just finished a paper. I was basically swamped with real life. But fear not, I have a few drafts ready, I just need to get my shit together and finish 'em. Nope. No pressure there. Oh, I must say that this chapter is rated-T since there will be use of crude language and kissing scenes. Oh, kissing scenes make fanfiction all the more colorful, don'cha think so?
Disclaimer: I do not own Haikyuu! or any of the characters. I just own the plot.
#7: "I will take responsibility! Please date me with the intent of marriage!" In which Yachi takes responsibility of seeing something that she shouldn't have. Of changing rooms, a misplaced underwear and a pair of fine buns that belonged to one Tōru Oikawa.
With the spring tournaments coming up, it wasn't surprising for Karasuno to be joining a summer training camp with five other rival high schools in the Miyagi prefecture. The teachers from Date Tech, Shiratorizawa and Aoba Jōsai managed to secure a large dorm near the ocean and a whole sports complex for the two week-long training camp. Takeda-sensei was in charge of food, and managed to rent out barbecue sets for the first and second Sunday of camp, and pretty much all the boys treated him like God when they got wind of the barbecue party.
Hinata and Kageyama were fired up, since it was the first time since being second years that they were finally given the chance to go all out during practice, and this time they actually passed their exams after much tutoring from Hitoka and Ennoshita themselves. Being the Captain of the rowdy Karasuno bunch, he would rather take it upon himself to personally oversee their studies than lead the team to countless rounds of penalties. Once during his second year was enough. At least with the addition of the two blockheads, the team would have a higher chance of reducing their penalty rounds. Currently they were on the ninth day of camp, and they managed to get by with only twelve penalties. Much to the relief of the newly-joined first years and the chagrin of the other schools, Terushima from Johzenji was particularly bummed. He was still bitter to the fact that the synchronized attack that they tried against the Karasuno was a fail. That, and the fact that the sexy Kiyoko Shimizu was not there anymore.
Hitoka huffed as she placed the basket full of damp laundry onto the cemented floor, and started collecting the dried laundry to be passed to Johzenji's manager.
"I'll handle these shirts, Runa-chan. Oh, and be careful!" The girl muffled out something that sounded like 'roger that!' and staggered through the backdoor with the pile of clothes in her arms, leaving Hitoka to start hanging out the laundry she had set before her.
Blowing a strand of hair that hung over her eyes, she stopped and admired the clean shirts that she and Runa had spent hours bent over in the girl's bathroom scrubbing. There was a trick to keeping white shirts look neat even after being drenched in grime. A slight shudder ran down her body as she felt droplets of sweat run down the slope of her back. Sneaking glances around her, Hitoka pulled on the bottom hem of her black shirt to wipe off the perspiration gathering over her forehead.
A year ago, she would have never thought of using her own shirt to wipe off her sweat, but after quite some time managing a bunch of guys while running around to make sure things were kept in check, it was inevitable that she sometimes picked up habits from the boys. She did keep a small towel, but it was in the wash and she couldn't afford to wait for it to dry up. A small breeze tickled the exposed flesh of her flat tummy, and she felt that slight shudder again. There was the sound of dried leaves crunching, and suddenly there was a voice.
"Ah-"
She dropped her shirt, in time to see a figure bend down to pick up a fallen towel. She recognized that mop of brown hair all too well, and her smile immediately lit up her face as Oikawa stood back up, an awkward smile on his face. He felt a little guilty as he walked in on her, catching a glimpse of her abdomen and the dip of her navel.
Oblivious to his internal chaos, the girl bowed a little. "Thank you for coming to this camp, even though you're probably busy with college."
She came back up with that too-bright, too-huge smile of hers again, and he felt like a jerk for being unable to get the sight of the sweat rolling down her flat stomach and disappearing in the waistband of her sweat shorts off his mind. He was beginning to question his sanity. It must be the summer heat getting to him.
"It's fine. We're in the middle of summer break, and we're helping out the juniors so everything's cool." He hung the towel on his shoulder, and used the end to wipe his face, effectively blocking whatever little blush he had on his face.
When he was sure he was back to normal, he pulled the towel away from his face, watching silently as Hitoka continued to hang out the laundry. She was pulling out a white tee with black calligraphy on it (Oikawa was positive it belonged to the noisy Nishinoya) when he remembered why he was walking through the backyard of the dorms.
"Oh, um… Yachi-san?"
She nodded at him, a familiar-looking black and orange shirt in her hands. "Yes?"
"I was actually trying to find a... something…"
He wracked his brain for something to say. Well, he couldn't very well tell her that his boxers got mixed in with the Karasuno's because Hanamaki and Matsukawa pulled a sick prank on him, now could he? Those guys had the worst sense of humor when it came to himself, their calm faces did not reflect their wicked minds, at all.
'Say, Yachi-san. I'm actually here for my boxers. You see, Mattsun thought that it was funny to mix in my boxers with Tobio's. Funny, huh?' As if he could say that with a straight face.
Hitoka bent down to reach for another piece of clothing when he noticed it tucked by the side of the basket.
'Shit.' He was going to kill those two. After he could somehow retrieve his precious pair of boxers while trying to save face.
Hitoka blinked at him as she paused in her ministrations, oblivious to the turmoil as he fidgeted rather unlikely for someone with his personality. He was the kind of person who was confident in everything he did, it was quite unfitting to see him in such a different state.
"Um… Oikawa-san?"
An idea struck him, and he almost laughed victoriously at the thought. He cleared his throat, and with the confidence that was only 'Oikawa', he tilted his head to the side.
"Actually, it's nothing. I was just walking around the place. Do you need help with the laundry?"
She blinked again, and then she nodded enthusiastically. "Sure, if it's okay with you. I mean, it's not like I hate doing these things but there's only me and Runa-chan and another manager from Dateko so if it's okay with you…"
He waved a hand. "Doing this much is okay." He bent down and his hand lingered near the twisted article of clothing before noticing her eyes on him, and swiftly pulled out the first thing his hand landed on. It turned out to be a bright red pair of briefs with star prints all over.
He made a face and she laughed. "Geez, how can they let a girl handle their underwear?"
Hitoka shrugged as she straightened a pair of shorts on the line and stuck in pegs. "Doing this every time we have training camp made me become used to this sort of thing."
His arm brushed hers as he reached for a clothing peg, not noticing the slight blush on her face. He was busy trying to think of a topic that would make her too preoccupied so that he could snatch his boxers without her noticing. His heart jumped every time she turned around to pull out something from the basket of laundry, praying that he would be able to get to his precious baby before her.
"I heard Sawamura and the other retired members were coming as well. I hope they'd hurry up already. Komatsu's annoying the hell outta me."
She nodded. "Yeah, they couldn't make it yesterday, but they're coming today and will stay with us until the end of this camp. Um… I heard that you and Iwaizumi-san will also stay with us until the end of this camp, right?"
"Yep."
She pulled back a little, a blush staining her cheeks as she laughed a little. "I kind of feel bad, you know. I mean, I was the one to suggest inviting the retired members to come help out so um… I think it would help the guys out if they can train with their seniors you see."
Seeing that she was fiddling with her thumbs, Oikawa quickly swiped his boxers from the basket and stuffed it into his pocket before he looked up in time to see the pretty blush on her cheeks.
For a moment he forgot about the damp pair of boxers in his pocket and the bright red briefs taunting him, and instead he was reminded of the first time he met her a year ago at the semifinals of the Spring Tournament. They had never talked to each other, not until nine days ago when she greeted the retired players from Aoba Jōsai, Shiratorizawa and Date Tech at the gates of the rented dorm. She had called him Daiō-sama in front of the guys, and for that, even the stoic Ushijima sported a miniscule up-turn of his lips. Never mind the poorly-muffled snickers from the retired Dateko guys, that small teeny-tiny smirk on Ushijima's face was burned in his mind forever. But he couldn't bring himself to choke the sophomore manager because she was oblivious to how much he abhorred that nickname. If anything, it looked as if she thought he was perfectly dandy with that pet-name. She was so cute he couldn't help himself.
Which was absurd because she wasn't his type. His type had always been the long legged and powdered girls with too-short skirts.
His type was not the kind of girl who would be okay with walking in on half-naked guys with one hand covering her eyes. She wasn't supposed to be the kind of girl who ran around the courts while picking up used volleyballs and rushing around from court to court with a first-aid kit by her side, sweat matting the hairs on her nape. His chest wasn't supposed to clench every time he caught sight of her hanging out laundry in the backyard, with her hair twisted into a small bun at the back of her head while smelling of day-old compress.
He cleared his throat as he straightened up. "We're actually thankful to be a part of this camp, so I should thank you instead. College has been quite a pain lately so being able to be here is a good change."
Hitoka smiled, and he swallowed.
'Fuck.' He was whipped, wasn't he.
"You're welcome! Oh, and thank you!" She turned around to reach for another clothing. "I'm glad you feel that way, I just hope I didn't-"
She abruptly stopped in her musings as she turned around, a frown on her forehead as she held up a very familiar pair of boxers in her hands. Oikawa could feel the blood in him drain as his eyes landed on the thing in her hands.
He wondered then whose boxers were in his pocket.
The mighty Oikawa watched dumbly as Hitoka held up the pair of foreign boxers using her fingers, her small head tilted to the side. "I've never seen this one before-" she turned the boxers around and saw the one thing Oikawa never wanted her or anyone else to see.
The word "Oikawa's" was sewn neatly across the backside of the boxers using the blackest thread his older sister could find. He knew she had sneaked it into his duffel bag knowing that Matsukawa would pull something on her dear brother.
His life was officially and perfectly screwed up.
"Ah." Her brown eyes flickered to his own wide ones, and he wished the earth beneath would just open up and swallow him whole.
And just when things couldn't get any worse, Hanamaki was turning around the corner that led to where the ex-Captain was at that exact moment.
"Hey, Oika-"
He stopped in his tracks as he watched a red-faced Hitoka holding up a very familiar pair of grey boxers and a very still Oikawa. He could pretty much guess what happened, and before he could say anything, Oikawa went for broke and swiped the boxers from the girl, stomping his way past Hanamaki.
"C'mon, Hanamaki."
Said name scratched the back of his head as he watched Oikawa disappear into the boys' side of dorm and apologetically smiled at the small manager. She smiled back, her lips trembling at the awkwardness.
"I guess we took it a little too far this time, huh."
Hitoka could only nod dumbly. She couldn't agree more.
"Yachi, thanks for doing the laundry!"
Hitoka nodded as Hinata and Kageyama thanked her, watching as they raced to the bathroom for their baths just before dinner time. She walked past Tanaka who was talking to Sugawara about his missing pair of grey boxers, and immediately her eyes landed on Tōru from the other side of the dining hall. He looked to have heard what Tanaka was telling the Karasuno alumnus and turned to glare at a snickering Matsukawa and Hanamaki while stabbing his chopsticks into a piece of fried chicken. Iwaizumi was taking his place on the dining table next to the glaring ex-Captain, and said something that caused a pout on Oikawa's face. She laughed a little at the exchange and was reminded of how Hinata and Kageyama would glare and pout at Tsukishima's jabs in pretty much the same manner.
She was still smiling when suddenly Tōru looked up from his plate of food and his eyes found hers. He nodded at her, and she nodded back, her smile turning shy once she remembered what transpired between the just hours ago. He awkwardly turned to his food, not once looking up from his plate, and used a hand to punch Iwaizumi on the shoulder when the former Ace teasingly poked his ribs. Hanamaki must have told him about what happened and Iwaizumi was probably teasing his friend about it.
Tanaka noticed Hitoka and promptly called out to her.
"Yo, Yacchan! Thanks for the laundry! Keep up the good work!"
She jumped at his voice and nodded at the loud third year. Taking her place next to Sugawara, she dug into her own food, and listened quietly as Tanaka talked about their matches, Sugawara occasionally slipping in some comments and pointers.
Hitoka wondered about the time when it would be okay for her to take a bath herself. The managers still had to wait until everyone else was finished with dinner, and most of the guys had opted to squeeze into the baths before dinner, save for some of them who had decided to eat first. She spent quite a while at the dining hall as Sugawara did some catching up with both her and Tanaka. Daichi joined them some time after, and it took a few more minutes before the other boys stumbled into the dining hall fresh out of the baths. The ones who had foregone bath-time earlier quickly filed out the hall and took their turn for the baths.
She helped Runa and Takeda-sensei pass out the dinner and was about to do the dishes when Mizoguchi stormed in and ordered the freshmen to help out with the dishes. He shooed the managers and told them to rest for the day, and Hitoka thanked him about a hundred times before she retired for the day. Just as she was about to head to the girls' section, Dateko's coach had told her that the girls would have to use another bathroom on the other end of the building, since the one she and Runa had been using was given to the college guests since it was closer to their own specialized room. He promised the girls that the new bathroom was even more spacious and that they should not hold back on hot water.
They squealed in excitement, and didn't waste any time to fetch their toiletries.
Hitoka sighed comfortably as she walked through the hallways to check if there was anything amiss, and smiled to herself as she stretched out her arms, feeling the joints pop. The bath was good, and she was already feeling sleepy. The past nine days had been hectic, and she thought she could never take a break with all the new techniques the Karasuno regulars have learned. Nine days of early mornings and late nights, coupled with all the washing and laundry and the running around was finally catching up to her. The events of the past days sloshed about in her fuddled mind, and as she stopped in front of the storeroom, suddenly she couldn't remember the way back to her room.
She blinked, and glanced at the T-junction before her.
Was it right or left?
Crossing her arms, she thought hard and with fatigue creeping up on her, she couldn't really think straight. All she wanted was to just fall down into her soft futon but the dorm building suddenly seemed so large and the hallways suddenly looked confusing to her. She felt the pockets of her pajama pants, hoping to find her cell phone so she could ask Runa to come to the rescue, but was again disappointed when she remembered that she left it to charge in the room.
"Great, Hitoka. Just great."
She leaned against a wall, and closed her eyes as she took a deep breath. 'In, out. That's it, in and out. Okay, I can do this.'
Finally clearing her head, and with renewed vigor, she turned down the hallway to her right, and found a very familiar junction. Walking past a fire extinguisher, one she couldn't quite remember seeing one near her room, she stopped in front of a pale blue door. She smiled, proud of herself for finding the door to her shared room with Runa. She was positive that it was their room, since the girls' bathroom wasn't supposed to be too far from it.
She slid the door open, expecting to see the night light Runa had brought with her, but was instead greeted by a very scandalous sight. The half-smile she had on her lips immediately dropped into a gape as she stood frozen.
Later in the future, Hitoka would have scolded herself for lowering her eyes. Because the next thing she remembered before she blacked out was the sight of a very fine pair of behind.
"Sorry, man. We didn't know it would go that far."
Tōru scratched his belly as he walked into the room, and immediately glared at the pair of misfits who had dared to prank him. Matsukawa, Hanamaki and Iwaizumi had left the bathroom earlier so he could enjoy using the bathtub all to himself as a peace offering. He had liked the alone time, but Tōru was still bitter about the stupid boxers prank they pulled on him.
"Shut up. You guys were waiting for something like that to happen, weren't you?" He jumped to the side as Matsukawa attempted to pull off the towel wrapped around his waist, and smirked as the ex-Captain gave him the middle finger.
"Well, it was funny, wasn't it, Iwaizumi?"
The spikey haired guy hummed as he pulled on a white shirt over his head. "It's your fault for not checking your bag before heading out here. You know your sister is a wicked one if she gets down to it. Hanamaki, lend me your brush."
Pulling the towel around his neck to dry his hair, Tōru frowned. "What have I ever done to you guys, anyway? I just embarrassed myself in front of a girl. Now I can't get married."
Hanamaki yawned as he settled into his futon, and raised a brow. "Relax, it's not as if she saw you naked or anything. And you sound like a girl. By the way, your towel's slipping off, Oikawa."
The ex-Captain ignored the warning, and continued to dry his hair. "Geez, you guys are mean."
He grumbled as Iwaizumi slapped the back of his head, smirking as he did so. "Yachi-san, wasn't she? It was pretty funny how she called you Daiō-sama. You guys should get hooked up already."
Snickers were heard when Oikawa bristled at that comment, dropping his deodorant at that moment of weakness. "Why would I go out with her? It's none of your business who I go out with. Besides, she's not my type."
The towel was now dangerously low on his waist, but Tōru was busy saving his face to notice that. Matsukawa on the other hand, found this opportunity to pull another one on his former captain, and his hands inched closer to the loose knot. Noticing his intentions, the irate half-naked guy slapped Matsukawa's hand away.
"Ouch. Not your type? Seriously now?"
By this time Iwaizumi was already lying down on his futon, playing with his phone. Next to him, Matsukawa settled down into his futon as well and opened up a magazine. From his spot on the floor, Hanamaki chimed in.
"You sure she's not your type? She seems to take a liking to you, though."
Tōru pretended not to hear that. He pretended to ignore the jump in his chest at the prospect of Hitoka actually fancying him. "…I told you, she's not my type."
"Did I hear you hesitate just now?"
"I wasn't. She's cute and all but she's still not my type."
Flipping onto his side, Hanamaki smirked. "Uh-huh. Then why were you looking at her these past few days like some smitten mess."
"I'm not. I wasn't looking at her." He wasn't. He really wasn't. Not unintentionally, though. She just happened to be there. And his eyes just happened to be drawn in by her smiles.
And her wind-chime laughter. And her enthusiastic cheers.
And the playful little fist bumps she shared with Kageyama and Hinata whenever they won a practice game.
And the way she could smile so brightly even in the dead of the morning as encouragements.
If he had seen how Matsukawa was rolling his eyes at the small smile on the half-naked Oikawa, he would probably get glared at.
"Your towel's slipping off Oikawa. And you were totally checking her out, weren't you."
That got him to turn around, his back to the door, and the sudden movement caused the towel around his waist to slide down his hips. Matsukawa covered his face with the magazine, and snickered as Iwaizumi guffawed at the funny scene. "Cut it out, Hana-"
He didn't get to finish snapping at his friend though, when the door slid open to reveal a dumbstruck Hitoka Yachi by the door. The snickers stopped almost immediately at the untimely interruption. As Oikawa turned his head, he could swear whatever deity up there purposely led her eyes to flicker downwards just as the towel slid off the slope of his backside, revealing his buttocks. Her eyes stayed on his exposed butt a few seconds too long before she dragged her eyes back up just in time for him to pull the towel from his head to cover his front.
It was eerily quiet, just before she breathed in and let out a deafening scream, pinched the bridge of her nose to stop a nosebleed, and finally passing out. There was little time to think as her body went limp, and since he was the one nearest to her, Oikawa quickly moved in to catch her falling figure. The trio behind him were up instantly just as their former captain managed to capture her in his arms.
The scream woke up most of the tenants, and as fate would have it, the fastest ones to run towards the voice were the Karasuno crowd. Of course their room was next to theirs. And of course they would be there in a split second. Iwaizumi couldn't really blame Tanaka and Nishinoya for roaring out-loud and the death aura surrounding Kageyama as they saw the state their manager was in.
Limp and pale, in the arms of one stark naked Tōru Oikawa.
Oh, the chaos.
Practice took place like normal the following morning, well as normal as it could be with over-protective Tanaka and Nishinoya hovering around Hitoka. And the white patch on Oikawa's right cheek as well as the small cut on the corner of his lower lip. It was so like Tanaka to punch first and ask questions later. Ennoshita, being the ever-diplomatic captain that he was, managed to calm down a raging Tanaka and gently took Hitoka into his arms. If it wasn't because of the calm captain, Oikawa would have had a hard time explaining himself.
Mizoguchi was having the time of his life annoying Oikawa with his teasing jabs, and being the sassy person he was, the brown-haired man decided to push a few of the young coach's buttons as well. A ball rolled past him, and his eyes followed it as it continued to roll to the side of the gym, hitting the side of a pair of small feet. A pair of hands picked it up, and dutifully put it back into one of the ball carts. The owner of those hand turned around just in time to look into his face, and he could feel the embarrassment coming back again.
She blushed, and turned her gaze elsewhere.
He couldn't blame her. She could probably do without having to catch an eyeful of him.
A least she didn't see his front. That would have been dangerous, on so many levels.
It was the last day of training camp, and since her incident with a naked Oikawa that night, Hitoka hadn't talked to him at all. They couldn't avoid each other since Karasuno had mostly been paired up with Aoba Johsai, but she managed to get by each remaining day with minimal contact with him. She had been struggling with a pile of dried clothes one day and had bumped into his back. He had wordlessly took off towards the laundry room with most of the load off her hands, and she felt bad because she didn't have the guts to thank him.
"Yacchan, do you need help with the seasoning?" Runa appeared next to her with a large bowl full of chopped vegetables to be skewered for the coming barbecue party.
Hitoka shook her head as she continued to rub the spices into the pieces of meat. "I'm doing fine here. Can you check if Takeda-sensei has started on the fire?"
She watched as the Johzenji's manager nod and took off towards the outdoor porch overlooking the shore. The light in the kitchen flickered for a few seconds, and Hitoka wondered if the dorm manager was notified of the faulty kitchen light. The sun was going down, and the boys were taking turns cleaning the gyms and using the bath. Strands of hair fell over her eyes, and she blew it away, regretting not wearing gloves and instead opted to rub the marinade using her bare hands. She preferred doing it with her hands though, meat tended to taste better when treated bare-handed.
As Hitoka rubbed the spices into each piece of meat, she let her thoughts drift to Oikawa. The image of the faint but apparent dips and lines on his abdomen that she remembered catching sight of filled the forefront of her mind. She felt her cheeks burning as she was reminded yet again, the childlike fidgety movements of his when she had pulled out the grey boxers with his name stitched onto it with bold black letters. The Kanji characters of his surname was artfully sewn on the backside of the boxers, and almost immediately she recalled that part of him that she was exposed to. A giggle escaped her lips when she thought about how he had covered the front of himself, even in that situation.
Then she stilled. A gasp escaped her lips.
"Wait, I… I saw him naked didn't I?"
She bit her lip. How could she do that to him? He must have been embarrassed! She saw him stand there in all his birthday suit glory!
Hitoka felt like knocking her head into a wall as punishment. What if he was traumatized? He surely must be more than traumatized! He must have felt violated by her roving eyes that night, judging by the way he had pretty much avoided any eye contact with her. Her shoulders slumped as she thought of all the possible ways she had screwed his life over.
He was seen naked. And she was partly to blame for it. Now he probably wouldn't be able to show anyone else his body, he wouldn't even participate in physical check-ups due to the trauma, which was important for an athlete such as him. People would question his reluctance to undergo any sort of check-ups and he might be stripped off from tournaments for not cooperating! He would lose his popularity and women would not want to have anything to do with a man who already had his body exposed to such a plain girl like herself! She had most probably rob his chances of getting married!
She sniffed as she felt the onslaught of tears. "Oikawa-san… I'm sorry… I'll take responsibility."
Yes, she would take responsibility! As Nishinoya would say in times as such, she would take the bull by the horns and take responsibility of robbing Oikawa's chances of being a groom!
She would marry him herself!
Hitoka nodded determinedly to herself as she made that decision, and caused the strands to fall over her eyes again. She shook her head to get them off her eyes and the small bun on her head came undone instead. Huffing in annoyance, the girl wished that she had gotten a haircut before coming to the training camp. Just as she was contemplating of washing her hands and tie her hair, and thinking it was going to be a pain to wash her hands only to get them covered in spices a few seconds later, she heard footsteps entering the kitchen.
Turning around, she hoped it to be Hinata looking for something to drink. The light flickered off a little bit longer, and for a few short seconds darkness engulfed her. The person bumped into something, probably one of the kitchen counters, and the light turned back on again. The sight of Oikawa appearing suddenly behind her spooked her, and she ended shouting out "Hogyaaa!" before her heart rate returned to normal upon realizing his presence. The Seijoh graduate stopped in his tracks when she turned around to look at him, her right eye covered by her hair.
"Oh. Hey there. I scared you, huh."
She nodded at him, and ended up laughing nervously at her sudden outburst. He was about to quickly grab a water bottle and make a dash when she suddenly spoke up.
"Um, Oikawa-san, can you um… help me a bit?"
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, and studied her. She was in one of the black Karasuno collared T-shirts, and had seasoning covering her small hands. Her shoulder-length hair gathered at one side of her neck, and with one eye covered by her hair, he admitted that she looked strangely endearing. Attractions work in the strangest of ways, and as he approached her small back, he admitted that he was, indeed, drawn to her. At this revelation, a small smile painted his face, and the tinge of pink coloring her cheeks was really worth watching.
"What can I help you with?"
"I have a scrunchy in my pocket. Can you um… tie my hair for me?"
He raised an eyebrow and blinked at her request. "Fine but… are you okay with it?"
She laughed shyly, and when she lightly shook her head, strands of hair moved softly with the motion. His fingers itched to run through her light-hued hair. The thought made him inwardly cringe, and didn't fail to remind him how hard he had fallen for her.
"I'm actually quite embarrassed, but considering how wasteful it is to wash off these spices just to tie my hair I think I can manage. Um, if you're okay with it. I mean, if you don't want to then I can just wash my hands and do it… myself…because it's weird telling someone to tie my hair for me… because it would be awkward and… strange and weird and… Sorry I'm just rambling aren't I?"
She laughed again, and he shook his head. "No, I'm fine with it. So, which pocket is it?"
"My left one. Um, I'm ticklish, so if you could take it out slowly… sorry, I'm being silly."
He chuckled, and without her noticing he swiftly took out the scrunchy from her pocket. "No, you're not. So um, if you'll excuse me…"
Her breath caught in her chest as she felt his hands gather her hair and tied it in a high ponytail, swiftly and wordlessly, as if he had done it countless times. "There you go. Better?"
He reached out a hand and tucked a loose strand behind her ear, and promptly swallowed that nonexistent lump in his throat as he was met with her smile and her pink cheeks. The smile was so earnest that he kind of felt bad for being on the receiving end of it. It was as if she was thanking him for saving the world or something. "Thank you, that's much better."
Maybe if he just bend a bit, he could reach her lips with his. But he couldn't since Kindaichi chose that time to stick his head in the kitchen and call out to him. The sophomore didn't even realize how unnaturally close his former captain was standing with Karasuno's manager.
"Oikawa-san, the guys are calling for you. They need help with the second gym. Oh, Yachi-san. Hi there."
Hitoka returned Kindaichi's greeting and Oikawa had to refrain from objecting to his request, and instead he followed after his junior. Just before he stepped out of the kitchen, Hitoka called out to him.
"Um, thank you again, Oikawa-san."
He grinned. "You're welcome."
When he disappeared, Hitoka sighed. She forgot to apologize to him for walking into the wrong room. And there she thought she was determined to take the responsibility of defiling his body with her eyes. She shook her head as the familiar feeling of defeat consumed her.
"No, I can do this. Tonight, I'll tell him tonight!"
"Tōru Oikawa!"
Laughter stopped and heads turned at the spectacle before them. The name in question blinked dumbly at the girl who stood barely up to his chest in her full height.
"Yes?"
Bright brown orbs bore into his very being as she looked up at him.
"I'm sorry to have walked in on the room and seen you naked!"
He shot a glare at the snickering guys before he looked down at her. "It's not your fault-"
"I will take responsibility! Please date me with the intent of marriage!"
The snickers stopped, and only the sound of waves crashing against the shore filled the silence. that was until Kageyama choked on a piece of meat, and Oikawa watched dumbly as Hitoka hurried over to pat the setter on his back, offering a glass of water. As if she hadn't gone out and proposed to a guy mere seconds ago.
There was the sound of firewood cracking and meat sizzling away on the grill, but other than those, the venue was silent. The sophomore setter thanked her for the water, and she turned back to a dumbfounded Oikawa. He chanced a glance around him and feeling everyone's eyes bore into him, he sighed.
"C'mon, follow me."
He grabbed her hand and walked briskly towards the dorms, Hitoka's hurried footsteps stumbling after his long strides. Tōru rolled his eyes as cheers broke through the silence. Some random guy had shouted out "Good luck Oikawa! Congratulations on getting married, kiddo!"
Hitoka blinked as she turned around to see the receding figures of her friends. "U-Um… Oikawa-san."
The sounds faded as they walked through the kitchen backdoor and disappeared altogether as he led her to the lobby of the rented dormitory. Flicking on the lights by the empty reception desk, Oikawa swallowed the lump in his throat before he turned to face her. Her hair was disheveled by the brisk walking just then and his chest nearly exploded when she tilted her head to the side. He cursed her ability to manage to look so damn cute when he was trying to make sense of things.
Oikawa had the sudden epiphany that the girl might just be the death of him. And she would forever remain oblivious to that fact.
"Is… is that a no?"
He sighed heavily and slumped into one of the sofas in the center of the lobby. "Damnit."
She gasped as he buried his face into his hands. "You… do you hate me now?"
He was quiet for a moment, before he groaned. Suddenly he stood up from the sofa and advanced towards her. She nervously looked up at him as her back hit a wall, his arms caging her against him so that the only way she could look was up into his eyes. "O-Oikawa-san?"
She yelped when he dropped his forehead onto her shoulder, unable to see the small smile on his face as he caught a whiff of peaches under the overpowering scent of Salonpas.
"So? What was that about taking responsibility?"
He could feel her bringing her hands up in the small space between his body and hers, and as he pulled back a little, he saw her twiddling her thumbs. Her eyes were focused onto a spot just below his throat, and the way she was worrying her bottom lip made him want to kiss her just for the heck of it.
"W-well… that night, I saw you… uh… saw your… um.."
"So you saw me naked. And?"
She swallowed when she felt his eyes bore into her being. "Um, and my mother keep telling me that I can only let the man I'm supposed to marry to see my b-body. And if another man sees it then I can't get married anymore. So since… since on that night the events were reversed, I thought that maybe the same applies to you…"
He couldn't help the smirk on his lips. "So you're saying that since you've seen my bare ass then I can't get married."
Oikawa couldn't help the grin when her cheeks burned scarlet at the mention of his backside. She frowned a bit before adding in a small voice, "I feel responsible. Because of me you might end up being lonely."
"You sound like a guy who got his girlfriend pregnant or something."
When she kept her eyes downwards, he pulled up his hand and gently eased the frown on her forehead. "You sure that's the only reason you came up with the crazy proposal?"
She looked up into his face, her lower lip caught between her teeth, before she embarrassingly said something under her breath. Oikawa raised a brow, and using his fingers, he tilted her chin so he could look at her face. "What was that?"
"N-Not really. Truthfully, I was trying to find an excuse for you to d-date me… I guess. I don't know why but I really really really like you and… it's weird because I only got to really know you two weeks ago and I don't know why you would even consider a girl like me. You just… lately I can't think straight when it comes to you and I don't… I don't know anymore!"
Her sudden outburst made him pull back a little. When she looked up at him, cheeks red and brown eyes glinting, Oikawa knew that he wasn't wrong to think that he was starting to like her even more. It was amazing how two weeks could change a person's heart.
"So you're using that incident to blackmail me into dating you? Aah, Yachi-san… isn't that quite improper?"
Hitoka gasped. "I'm sorry! I wasn't trying to blackmail you!"
He laughed at her wide eyes and her trembling lips, and decided to frazzle her a little more. He wasn't Tōru Oikawa if he didn't tease people.
"What if I said no?"
She stopped fidgeting so suddenly he thought she was frozen. That was until she meekly spoke up. "You're… rejecting me?"
The grin on his face faltered at her crestfallen face, and his heart twisted and turned and he felt like a jerk for putting that face on her. He cleared his throat. "That was a 'what if'. I didn't say I was rejecting you."
That got her eyes to brighten up. "Eh? So you're saying yes?"
"What if I had to say no? What would you have done?"
She tilted her head and put a finger on her chin, her eyes screwed shut as she thought about it seriously. For a moment his eyes flickered to her lips, and he was sorely tempted to just gather her up in his arms and kiss her silly. But before he could, her eyes popped open and the goofiest smile lit up her face.
"Then I guess I would keep trying to make you look my way. You know… doing things like… u-um… things that a guy would like."
She was turning into a blushing mess again, and his eyes lowered to focus on her lips. "What do you think a guy like me would like?"
When he dragged his eyes to look into her brown ones, her bush deepened, knowing where he was looking at. "Volleyball."
Her eyes darted to the side as she felt his body closing in on herself, feeling his warm breath tickle her cheek as he lowered his head. "Only volleyball?"
She could feel the tip of his nose as it brushed against her temple. "And other… things."
The puff of warm air as he chuckled sent shivers down her spine, and she curled her fingers into his chest as he used a hand to cup her cheek so he could look at her. Her eyes screwed shut when he brushed his lips on her forehead and her nose. It was a few silent moments when Hitoka heard him mumble her given name under his breath before he dipped his head and pressed his lips to hers. As soon as he felt her responding to the kiss he immediately moved the hand on her cheek to tangle in her hair and held her head in place, slanting his mouth over hers so he could fell her better.
She gasped when she felt him lick her bottom lip, and he used the opportunity to explore her even more. He nearly broke the kiss to grin stupidly as her hands ran up his chest to grip his shoulders, her body turning to putty as he snaked his other arm around her waist to pull her closer. By the time they broke apart for some air, she was already on her tiptoes, her body pulled flushed against his larger one. A smile broke out on her face amidst her blushing cheeks, and he thought that he had never seen a sight so pretty in his life.
"So is that a yes, Oikawa-san?"
He smirked and pecked her on the lips, before replying. "What do you think?"
"You're really okay?"
He raised a brow at that. "You're still asking me that after torturing me for days on end?"
Her brows shot up. "When did I do that?"
Oikawa didn't know whether to cry or laugh at her question. She really wasn't Hitoka if she had caught onto him sneaking glances at her and smiling afterwards.
"You better take responsibility for this, ya hear me?"
She surprised him when she held his face in her hands and pecked him on the lips. The little grin she sported nearly made his knees go weak. Nearly.
"Of course!"
A/N: There ya go. Um… I myself don't really know what I've done here. The idea came like a tidal wave in the first half an hour, and somehow during the middle I kinda lost sight of stuff. Sorry 'bout that. But I do hope that this chapter have recharged your OikaYachi feels. Please leave a review and tell me what you think.
P/S: I was wondering if I should put in a youkai AU as the next installment. I'd probably just go ahead with it though.