"Why are you apologizing?" Tsukki asked in a small voice, he could see the obvious discomfort just by looking at Yamaguchi's back.
The trembling boy shook his head, not a sound coming from his throat.
The blonde wants to pressure him to talk but knows nothing good will come of it, so, instead he starts walking again. It was only moments before he passed his friend and didn't show signs of waiting.
Yamaguchi opens his mouth looking for anything to say to Tsukki, his hand extended ever so slightly as if reaching out to the other as he walked away. He couldn't keep his lineage a secret from Tsukki forever, but was scared to see his reaction.
In that moment, Yamaguchi knew there was only one thing he could do to stop Tsukki from leaving him behind.
"I'm an Aquatic lineage…" his voice was low but clear enough for Tsukki to hear.
What he just heard caused him to stop mid-step, he turned his head back just enough to see his friend. His eyes wide with curiosity, but Yamaguchi didn't see it that way.
The brunette set his hands against his chest and pressed his lips tightly together, so tightly they were nothing but thin white lines.
After several minutes of silence, Yamaguchi starts digging through his pocket to retrieve his wallet. "If you don't believe me, I have my lineage ID with me." he finally manages to pull out his wallet.
Before he can open it, Tsukki shakes his head and begins to laugh. His laugh was a hardy and honest one. "Honestly, I don't need to see it. I think it fits you perfectly."
Yamaguchi could barely believe what he'd just heard, from the look on Tsukki's face and the way he sounded, Yamaguchi was speechless for several moments. He was confused at how the blonde could say that about him.
"W-what...do you mean?" Yamaguchi responds, breathlessly.
Before Tsukki could respond, there was a loud thundering call for both of them coming behind Yamaguchi. Hinata had called out for the pair as he and Kageyama approached them, the shorter looked extremely happy with his huge grin on his face.
Yamaguchi looked back, he could only get a partial glimpse at Hinata's face before he was pulled into a huge hug.
"Feels like I haven't seen you in a long time! I missed you!" Hinata's voice was loud and boisterous.
Looking around, it was as if Yamaguchi was the only one in such a dark place about his lineage.
"If we don't get moving, Coach is going to be pissed." Tsukki calls out, he'd started walking moments after Hinata had hugged Yamaguchi.
The brunette is quick to pull away from the hug, giving Hinata a small smile as he chased after Tsukki.
It was only minutes before they arrived at a local family restaurant, the owner's being long time friends of the previous coach Ukai. Once inside, the entire team was together, with no one saying a word. There was a thick air around the table, each person wanting to get back to practice as much as possible.
As the first years made it to the table, they were each greeted by different team members. A light chatter erupted as everyone got comfortable, mostly about practice and their lineages.
"Okay, it looks like everyone is here. Let's gets started." Coach Ukai called out, getting the attention of the whole table.
"First, thank you for showing up. Second, you all know the reason we're here is to talk about practice and when we'll be allowed to start again." In his hand were a few documents from the school about after school clubs.
"The school hasn't decided on a date to start clubs up yet, but from what they've told the staff and club administrators, it looks to be months." as he finished, the members erupted into disgruntled murmurs.
"Listen, I understand everyone just wants to get back to practice, but the school is still waiting to receive more information from the Lineage administration and how to assess the continuation of the clubs, especially the athletic clubs." He shuffles through the papers in his hands.
Ukai can see no one is happy about the information, he sets the paperwork down and lets out an exaggerated sigh. On one hand, he can see why the school is holding off the clubs but on the other hand, he can understand the team's feelings about not being able to continue practice.
"Before you all decide to get lazy, we're holding a training camp. It's not an official training camp but we'll be practicing just as hard as if it was. We're not the only school interested in doing one, Nekoma and Fukurodani being the most vocal about it." His words sparked an interest in the entire team.
"We'll be gathering the forms for your parents to look over and sign but until then, hold tight and don't do anything that could get in the way of each of you showing up to the camp. We'll keep you updated with the information." Ukai crossed his arms. "I know you're all expecting us to bring up the lineages, but we discussed it and think it's better to wait until the training camp. More important than discussing them, would be to see how each of you react together during a game." Ukai glanced down at Take-chan before looking back at the faces of his curious volleyball players.
The team members stayed quiet for what seemed like more than 10 minutes, no one knowing how to break the silence. Everyone with several things on their mind, but no one wanting to bring them up.
Yamaguchi kept his gaze on his empty plate, usually he wouldn't think twice about eating his fill of the restaurant's food but didn't have the appetite tonight.
"Yamaguchi, if you have a moment we'd like to speak to you." A hand was set on the boy's shoulder as Take-chan whispered the brunette's ear.
Yama simply nodded and stood up from his chair, most the team noticed but didn't want to speak up, thinking it had to do with his absences.
They moved into the hallway nearest to the restrooms, Take-chan and Ukai taking a moment to gather their thoughts as they looked Yamaguchi up and down.
"The school notified me about your lineage, I assume that explains your absences." Take-chan started. "I understand the information can be startling, especially when being given the information about the aquatic lineage. The school received the same information that you and your parent's received."
Yamaguchi listened carefully, he knew that Take-chan and Ukai would know. They reacted so adult like, unlike himself. He ran his hands along his upper arms, it was obvious he was uncomfortable.
"We understand if you need to take some time, especially with the extreme changes your body must be going through. There won't be any repercussions if you decide not to take part in the training camp." The teacher sounded sympathetic, which Yamaguchi appreciated but didn't want to be excluded from the training camp.
The Aquatic looked down, he knew his body had changed but so did everyone's. He knew the coach and sensei were coming from a good place and didn't want to feel bad about it.
"Thank you, sensei." Was all Yamaguchi could respond with, his lips curled into a small smile.
Ukai and Take-chan couldn't find anything else to say to their student, Take-chan simply set his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"It'll be okay, Yamaguchi." The simple phrase caused Yamaguchi to look up, he was almost shocked to see Take-chan's simple expression.
The brunette couldn't help but smile, "Will you say goodbye to the rest of the team for me, I think I'll head home early."
"Of course, hopefully we'll see you tomorrow at school." Take-chan was the one to respond, he quickly removed his hand from the other's shoulder.
Yamaguchi didn't stand there much longer before taking his leave, most of the team was too busy to notice him sneak through the front door and start heading home.
His house was only about 15 minutes from the restaurant but the walk would feel much longer than that. He'd spent so long after being assigned Aquatic letting his dark attitude control his thinking but after talking to the people around him, he'd felt like a fool. No one treated him like a freak or ostracized him.
It was only minutes into his walk home when he felt all his pent up emotions release in the form of tears. His pace slowed as the tears rushed out of him harder than he'd ever cried before. Everything he'd thought and the way he acted before seemed so stupid compared to his teammates and coach.
"Yama-chan?" He'd only made it about a block away before someone had called out to him, a voice he knew well.
Tsukki's brother, Tsukishima Akiteru had called out from in front of him.
His expression looked worried as he moved closer, they hadn't seen each other in years. Yamaguchi lets his lips fall open, he couldn't find the right words to say. He quickly used his jacket sleeve to wipe his face, hoping that would take some of the embarrassment away.
Yamaguchi didn't know how to react, so instead he just gawked at Akiteru with wide eyes of wonder.