A/N: Dropped my laptop the minute I attempted to upload this chapter, which is why it was late. I'll try to upload another chapter before next week since I will be busy when classes start and I won't have as much time to update this fanfic! P.S: Changed the name of this chapter after realizing I didn't like the title of Preparations anymore. Enjoy the newest chapter of Miracle Lover!
Undertaker: Originally I did plan for them to text all night long, but I wanted to bring Wakatoshi's father into the story immediately. The story is still set early in the first semester so Wakatoshi's birthday hasn't arrived just yet. I already have some ideas for how the swim girls and volleyball boys will celebrate Wakatoshi's birthday, but that won't be for some time.
geneee: I never laughed so hard before at a review. i'm currently imagining how you'll feel when you read this chapter :)
Bla: Ushiwaka, always the stoic ace :)
LilweenGalatrass: Thanks for the support! I was wondering why your username looked so familiar and then I realized I read your AsahixOC fic when it first came out! I think that was when I just got into the Haikyuu fandom and was testing the waters of the Haikyuu fics that everyone else wrote, but I'm planning to read your other stories as well!
Manaoio: Thanks for the encouragement! I hope you'll like this new chapter.
Cardfighter By Maple: LOL!
Aquafin: Wakatoshi's bluntless is one of my favorite qualities from the Great Ace!
Blue Sky of Love: Indeed! I hope you like this next chapter!
Yukina tried so hard to focus on Yukuda-sensei's lecture but the burning stares of her classmates made that impossible. Even trying to stare at Yukuda-sensei's horrible toupee wasn't working. Yukina would usually feel that she's being overly paranoid, but after she got out of her shocked state and hid in the bathroom until class started back up, the stares from every person in school seemed to critique every inch of her. Her classmates weren't doing any better since she was subjected to being trapped in class until practiced started. Yukina could hear the failed whispers from the boys sitting behind her and the tapping that came from the girl next to her who was failing to be discreet when texting her friend about Yukina and Wakatoshi's supposed romantic relationship.
Yukina just put her head down as she focused on making random sketches in her notebook, intent on blocking everything around her. Luckily, it started to work as she diligently started to sketch an eagle in the corner of her page. Yukina drew the talons until a sharp kick from Reika caused her to snap out of her peaceful escape. Yukina turned to glare at Reika until her friend saw how the class started to openly snicker at her.
"Kurosawa." Yukuda-sensei said up front, frowning disapprovingly at Yukina's lack of attention to his lecture. "When you're ready to join us in the day of the living, come up and solve the equation."
Yukina stood up, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment as she walked up front. Taking the piece of chalk from Yukuda's hands, Yukina quickly did the problem. Just to appease the spritely old man, she even did the equation in a different way to get him to stop frowning at her. Yukina gave the piece of chalk back to him and went back to her seat, but Yukuda's attention wasn't off her yet.
"I see whatever distraction that's filling your head isn't keeping you from answering problems correctly." Yukuda said, nodding approvingly at Yukina's work on the board.
"The distraction of a certain volleyball player, that is." A male classmate said in the back, causing the snickers to turn into full-blown laughter at Yukina's expense. Yukina's face turned red in embarrassment while Reika sent a glare to the boy in the corner who just shrugged, unfazed by Reika.
"At least Kurosawa's distraction doesn't keep her from almost failing, Takahiro." Yukuda-sensei said. "If I remember correctly, you barely made it to third-year with your last test scores. You should probably learn from Kurosawa herself. Although, I doubt she'll tutor you with that foul mouth of yours."
Takahiro blushed in embarrassment as the laughter turned towards him. Reika and Yukina's laughter was the loudest as the class eventually calmed themselves and focused back onto the lecture that would no doubt bore them until the day was over. Although, Yukina prayed it didn't get worse.
Yukina didn't realize how worse it would get.
When Yukina went to the bathroom, twelve, she counted twelve girls that immediately cornered her when she was ready to wash her hands. They constantly asked her questions and one of them had the gall to grab her unbuttoned jacket to keep her in place. Yukina had to do everything not to slap the idiotic first-year who invaded her personal space as she reigned in her frustration and anger at Wakatoshi's words that set every single girl into an insane frenzy of desperation and paranoia.
When Yukina spotted Yamagata on her way back to class, she ran as fast as possible to avoid the possibility that Wakatoshi might have been around the corner. She almost knocked herself out when she slammed into a door a teacher opened the minute she started to run.
When Yukina and Reika got ready for P.E., the third-year girls criticized every inch of Yukina's body with their eyes as she changed into the white t-shirt and purple shorts for class. Only the occasional reassurance from Reika kept Yukina from bashing her skull into the nearest locker.
Yukina and Reika stretched in the corner of the gym, ignoring the pointed stares from the girls who were trying to dissect Yukina's intentions with Wakatoshi.
"Could they stare any harder?" Yukina muttered, angrily bending down as she did another toe touch with Reika.
Reika snorted. "They have nothing else to do in their boring lives." She got up and braided her hair back before staring at her best friend. "The fact that the third-year girls who should already know about Ushijima's standards are even nosier than the first-years says a lot."
"You gotta admit, Ushijima-san is quite the character." Yukina said. The pair walked with the other third-year girls, waiting for Ooyama-senesi, the physical education teacher, to come in and tell them what sport they'll be playing today.
"Afternoon ladies." Ooyama-sensei said. "Guess what you'll be playing today?"
"Soccer?" a girl shouted.
"Track?" another girl shouted.
"Basketball?" a girl questioned.
"Nice guess, ladies!" Ooyama-sensei said. "We're playing volleyball!"
Every single girl turned to Yukina who prayed for a sinkhole to swallow her up right now as Reika snorted at her expense.
Wakatoshi, Reon, and Tendou walked down to the gym, holding the bags of pennies used for practice. The third-years males were on the track earlier today with their fellow third-year boys, but the three of them had to run an errand, delivering the pennies needed for the girls' volleyball practice.
"I was surprised at lunch today, Wakatoshi." Reon said. "I didn't expect you to do such a thing."
"Yeah, even caught me off guard." Tendou said. "Although I'm finally happy you decided to fess up your feelings for Yuki-chan!"
Wakatoshi tilted his head in confusion, wondering what Tendou meant. "I don't understand."
Reon and Tendou stopped, turning around to Wakatoshi who wondered if he misspoke or said something that offended them.
"Wait." Reon said. ''So, you don't romantically like Kurosawa-san?"
"No." Wakatoshi said. "I believe I was clear on the fact that I do not want to romantically date Kurosawa or any girl at all. It would only serve as a distraction towards my goal of volleyball."
"You asked her out on a date!" Tendou shouted.
"No, I did not." Wakatoshi said. "Does the student body once again assume that I'm romantically involved with Kurosawa?"
"Wakatoshi!" Tendou shouted, raising his arms above his head, making him drop the bag of uniforms he previously held. "When you say, 'go out,' it means you like her romantically."
"I believe I made a mistake." Wakatoshi said. "I probably should've asked my intentions for her in private, then attempt to announce it during lunch."
"What are your intentions for Kurosawa?" Reon asked. Before Wakatoshi could reply, shouting from the gym caught their attention. They walked with the bags of pennies and entered inside the gym they usually practiced in with the team.
Some of the girls were playing a set while the others looked on, not noticing the boys' entrance into the gym. The three of them saw a few of the girls from the volleyball team who gave them waves or slight nods since they were in the middle of a set, but other than that, they weren't noticed by anyone else.
It was obvious that the girls from the volleyball team were beating everyone else judging from how they were at set point and the other girls were only at ten. Hasegawa, one the team's wing spikers and Nagisa, one of the team's middle blockers were playing and the joy of doing so was written all over their faces.
"The joys of beating your rivals." Tendou said, leaning back against the wall with the bag of pennies lying next to his feet.
"It sucks for the other girls though." Reon commented. "Hasegawa and Nagisa are ruining them."
"The other girls aren't volleyball players or just entered Shiratorizawa for academic purposes only." Wakatoshi said. "It's expected for them to lose."
"Well they suck terribly." Tendou said.
"As to you, Toothpick." The boys turned to see Reika coming back into the gym, a smirk visible on her face. She walked towards Reon and took the bag of pennies he had in his hands, placing the purple penny onto her body before turning back to the boys. "So, I see you guys are playing delivery boys today."
"It seems so." Reon smiled. "Did you play already?"
"Yup, but of course the volleyball girls are destroying everyone." Reika frowned in annoyance. "Whenever we get to swim for P.E., I can't wait to destroy them then."
"Well someone's eager for blood." Tendou said. "Such a sore loser, Reika-chan."
Reika kicked Tendou's side causing him to yelp loudly. The nearby girls turned to the four of them and they immediately swarmed the boys and Reika. While the girls were grabbing pennies, and talking to the boys, Wakatoshi's eyes were focused on the game.
Wakatoshi expected the girls who didn't have the volleyball girls to lose, but not this badly. Even if they didn't play volleyball, some of them played other sports or the other ones were smart enough to think of a strategy to get around them. Wakatoshi and the team played against the girls from time to time and if you thought hard enough, you could probably take them down. Wakatoshi looked over to see who took the role as setter, since the setter was the control tower over an entire team.
Wakatoshi looked to see Yukina taking the role as setter. He noticed her stance was awful, her tosses were sloppy, and she wore a frown as Hasegawa spiked the ball onto the other side of the court but Yukina's libero received it. The ball went into the air and towards Hasegawa who immediately took her opportunity to hit the ball, but it was poorly received by Yukina who got it up in the air and was forced to stay on the defensive as another girl set the ball into the air so their spiker could hit. It was easily picked up by another, but it turned into a chance ball.
This is embarrassing! Why did Ooyama-sensei put me as setter!? Yukina thought.
The ball was turned into a set which was spiked by Hasegawa's teammate and the distracted Yukina didn't see the ball coming at her.
"Yukina!"
"Kurosawa!"
Yukina looked up to see the volleyball coming straight at her, but froze, too shocked to do anything. The ball slammed against her cheek causing her to fall on the ground in pain.
"Ushijima!" Ooyama-sensei shouted, pointing towards Yukina's crumpled form. Wakatoshi snapped out of his shocked state of seeing Yukina on the ground and he ran to her side. He knelt and helped her up, causing Yukina to flush red in embarrassment, but there was a hint of anger that clouded her gray eyes, an unnatural thing that seemed to be present there.
"Ushijima." Ooyama said. "Take Kurosawa to the nurse to get her checked out." He looked over to where Reon, Tendou, Reika, and everyone else stood. "Join him, Akiyama after Tendou and Reon pass out the rest of the pennies and return to their own class."
The girls dispersed to start a new set while Wakatoshi and Yukina left to the nurse's office. Wakatoshi didn't say anything as Yukina nursed her bruised cheek and kept her eyes of Wakatoshi's tall form. The both of them walked in silence as Wakatoshi opened the door to the nurse's office and sat down in a nearby chair as he let Yukina be tended by the elderly nurse.
About ten minutes later, Yukina held an ice pack on her slightly swollen cheek as the nurse instructed her to rest until she felt better as the swelling should go down soon. As she left to run an errand, Wakatoshi thought of something to say.
"You're terrible at volleyball." Wakatoshi finally said. His comment earned himself a frown from Yukina, who nursed her bruised cheek with the ice pack given to her by the nurse. As Yukina rested her head against the pillow, Wakatoshi just observed the moody swimmer.
"I can tell you're angry with me." Yukina's frown deepened at his words, causing her to sit up and stare at him.
"I do not want to date you at all." Yukina said, her eyes sharpened with clear intentions.
"Neither do i." Wakatoshi said. "I do not want to romantically date any girl at all."
"Then why did you ask me out?" Yukina demanded. "In front of half of the student body!"
"I didn't realize the backlash that it would create for you." Wakatoshi said. "I apologize for the negativity that it attracted towards you."
Yukina let out a sigh. "People always talk about anything that interests them and your non-existent love life seems to be the at the top their priority list."
Wakatoshi nodded. "The student body is quite imaginative when it comes to my personal life."
"So why did you ask me out?"
"I need your help to pick out a present for my mother." Wakatoshi said. "Her birthday is next month and I thought that you would provide a different view."
Yukina blinked once. Twice. Three times.
Eh!? Wait. Huh!? I'm so confused, Yukina thought.
"So, you want me to go out with you, to get a present for your mother?"
Wakatoshi nodded in agreement.
"Oh, okay." Yukina said. "But why so early? If her birthday isn't until next month, you still have plenty of time to get her present"
Wakatoshi shook his head. "Volleyball practice intensifies as the Inter-High nears, so Washijo-sensei is strict about us having too much freedom since he wants us to be focused on the upcoming games."
"Makes sense, but –" A thump at the door caused both to turn at the door. Wakatoshi walked forward to open it and Tendou fell forward with Reon and Reika standing above, watching the middle blocker as they shook their heads in a mix of disappointment and amusement.
"Tendou." Wakatoshi said. He leaned down to offer his friend a hand who gladly took it. Wakatoshi pulled Tendou up as he groaned in pain. "Do you have to do such a thing?"
"Of course!" Tendou struck a pose, his legs spread out and his fists resting comfortably on his sides as he beamed in eagerness. "I need an update on my ship!"
"Tendou." Wakatoshi and Reon both said, with a hint of exasperation in their voice.
"So annoying." Reika muttered. She pushed passed Tendou and joined Yukina in bed. Reika looked at her friend cautiously, hoping she was okay. "Please tell me you can still see properly."
"The ball didn't hit me that hard." Yukina muttered. "Thanks for the concern, though."
"With all these bruises you're getting, Coach might think you're a sadist."
Yukina flushed a horrible red. "Oh, shut up."
Reika turned back to the boys who were talking quietly in the corner. "You boys are dismissed. I can take care of Yukina now."
Wakatoshi, Reon, and Tendou looked at the girls, but said nothing as they left the room to head back to their own P.E. class. When the girls were alone, a serious look came onto Reika's face, causing a deep frown to appear on Yukina's face.
"You already have two rumors against you and the first week of school hasn't ended yet." Reika said.
"I've been through worse." Yukina said. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."
"Of course not." Reika fell back against the bed, her head near Yukina's. "Anytime I hear a rumor about you, all I can think of is –"
"Let's not say the Devil's name for the sake of my sanity." Yukina said, a cold tone adopted into her voice that seemed so unnatural.
"Sorry." Reika said. "You usually try to stay as far away from things like this or anyone like Ushijima."
"I know."
"So, what in the hell made you say yes to Ushijima's date?"
"So, you were listening. Also, it's not a date." Yukina said. "I guess I said yes just to figure him out. Ushijima-san is interesting."
"Interesting." Reika muttered. She got off the bed and turned to Yukina who seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. "I won't say anything else."
"He's interesting, simple as that." Yukina said to herself as Reika left to return to class.
As Reika walked back to the gym, she felt someone's stare on her back.
"Really, Tendou?"
Tendou walked out of a corner with an eerily serious look on his face. "Still think they find each other interesting?"
Reika sighed, placing a hand on her head as she looked at him. "How much did you hear?"
"Actually, nothing." Reika looked shocked, but believed Tendou's words.
"The rumors are gonna get worse."
"Wakatoshi-kun always ignores them, so why does Yuki-chan seem so bothered?"
"Don't worry about that." Reika said, waving Tendou off as she walked down the hall. She could hear his footsteps following her, glancing up to see him walking with a thoughtful look on his face. "Let's just let things play out and keep watch on our two foolish friends."
"My ship shall sail!" Tendou shouted. He sent a look towards Reika, but she stopped walking to look out the window as she noticed Wakatoshi and Reon's figures crossing the grounds to walk back to their own P.E. class.
"Or sink."
Ikeda was quiet as she watched her team take a break and eat the onigiri that Yukina made. The coach of the girls' swim team questioned how Yukina could reign in Endo. Endo is a great swimmer, there was no questioning that. Although, the girl has a horrible personality and self-righteous attitude that constantly irked the older woman. Instead of trying to get Endo and Akiyama to stop fighting, Endo was strangely compliant to Yukina's orders during practice and Reika's criticism on her swimming. Endo didn't make one complaint or attempt to even fight Reika which made Ikeda question her sanity. Ikeda thought the day Reika and Endo would stop fighting would be a cold day in hell. Ikeda suspected that Yukina threatened or blackmailed Endo into submission, since there's no way that girl would not stop raising hell on the team without being put down through force. Ikeda didn't complain at all. Whatever Yukina did, she praised, since the team seemed to be less stressed and even a few first-years attempted to talk the butterfly swimmer. As much as Ikeda praised Yukina's decision, Endo would be replaced soon by Mitsuki, no matter what.
As Ikeda went to help a few of the first-years with their stretching techniques, Yukina looked at the tablet in her hand that held the team's videos on their recent practice. Despite displaying a calm façade to the team, she was exhausted. The first week hasn't even ended yet, and she was the number one topic in the rumor mill. All the girls were harassing her like the world was going to end tomorrow and all the first-years on the team kept on giving her curious looks throughout practice. As Yukina tried to focus on the tablet in front of her, a tap on the shoulder caused her to look up.
Yukina looked up to see one of the first-year swimmers rocking back on her heels, her eyes looking everywhere but at Yukina herself.
"Yes?" Yukina questioned, although she already knew what the first-year was going to ask.
"Erm. . . well. . . I was wondering if you wer –"
Yukina stood up, placing the tablet and notebook on the bench she previously sat on. She turned to the first-year swimmer and tried hard not to glare at the girl.
"You want to know about Ushijima-san and me, don't you?" Yukina said.
The first-year swimmer blushed in embarrassment. "Yes."
"We are not dating." Yukina said firmly. "And just to make sure no one asks again. . ."
Yukina blew the whistle that hung around her neck. Everyone, including Ikeda, turned towards Yukina whose stance was rigid and deadly. "The next person that asks about Ushijima and I's relationship is doing a hell run around the school."
Ikeda smirked in amusement as the girls stiffened at Yukina's words. As quickly as she came, the first-year ran back to the other first-years where Mitsuki sent a concerned look towards Yukina, but she ignored it. Everyone immediately got back to practice, with Yukina staying out of the water due to her injury. As Yukina directed the first-years to start racing each other in the water, Kazusa and Reika joined her, each girl standing on one side of her.
"Well, that was interesting." Kazusa started.
"I found it pretty entertaining." Reika said.
"Of course, you did." Yukina groaned. "Did I just make things worse by opening my mouth?"
"No way." Kazusa reassured. "Putting the first-years in their place is better than letting them run wild."
"Speaking of running wild." Reika said. "Don't you think you're feeding to the rumors by saying yes to Ushijima's date?"
"You said yes?" Kazusa said in excitement, rocking back on her heels excitedly. "Tell me everything!"
"It's not a date." Yukina whispered. "I'm just helping Ushijima-san buy a present for his mother, that's all."
"I don't believe that." Yukina just shook her head at Kazusa's words as both girls started to whisper about whatever her 'date' with Wakatoshi would entail.
Time had quickly gone and before the girls knew it, practice was over. Everyone left except for Yukina, Reika, and Kazusa who were helping Mitsuki do some extra laps in the pool. As Kazusa was in the water to help race against Mitsuki, with Yukina controlling the cameras that would record their movements, Reika watched her teammates from a nearby bench, burned out from the day. Suddenly, her phone started to vibrate in the pocket of her bag. Grabbing it, she frowned when she noticed who the person was who sent the text.
Tendou: Where's Yuki-chan?
Reika: why should I tell you?
Tendou: I have a present for her.
Reika let out an audible groan, already feeling a massive headache come on. Reika already knew that Tendou's present was in the form of the volleyball ace and Tendou would probably harass the crap out of her until he got what her wanted.
Reika: we're at the indoor pool.
Tendou: good! don't leave!
Reika: I should do it just to spite you
Tendou: rude!
About ten minutes later, Yukina and the girls heard the doors to the pool slam open to see Tendou running in with Wakatoshi, Semi, and Jin trailing behind him. Unfortunately for Tendou, he didn't see the pools of water on the floor. The momentum of his run with the combination of water on the ground caused the middle blocker to fall into the pool. Yukina frowned at Tendou's actions since he was disturbing Mitsuki's extra practice but decided to leave him to Reika to punish as she started to yell at him.
Yukina ignored the boys and focused on Kazusa and Mitsuki who stopped swimming to frown at Tendou's disturbance. Yukina adjusted the cameras as Kazusa and Mitsuki swam back to the start where the platforms were to start racing one another again.
"What style do you want to do?" Kazusa asked as she stretched near the platform.
"Butterfly, since it's my specialty." Mitsuki said as she adjusted her goggles and cap. "We're ready, Yuki-senpai!"
As Yukina adjusted the cameras, she smiled lightly when she noticed Reika shouting at Tendou as he dried himself off with one of their towels. Semi, Jin, and Wakatoshi stood near the duo, but Wakatoshi's eyes were only on Yukina's form as she looked back to her teammates.
Yukina remotely controlled the cameras as she blew her whistle for Kazusa and Mitsuki to take off and race. Yukina watched their movements and took notes on each girl's form, frowning as she noticed Mitsuki bending her knees too much before her body dived into the water. It was obvious that Mitsuki had a better advantage than Kazusa due to butterfly being her specialty, but Kazusa kept up to the best of her ability. Mitsuki came back first as she touched the wall and eventually pulled herself out of the water.
Yukina handed her a towel. "Nice." Mitsuki nodded as she dried herself off. "How was I?"
"You were good but you brought drag in the water when you bent your knees before you took off." Yukina noted.
"Of course!" Yukina smiled as she showed Mitsuki the video while Kazusa got out of the water, heading towards Reika and the others who watched her previous race.
"Not bad." Reika smirked. "You still lost though."
"Oh, shut up." Kazusa said, grabbing a towel to wrap around her wet body. "How'd you find us?"
"Reika-chan told me!" Tendou said.
Kazusa looked shocked. "Eh!? What for!?"
"It was either tell him where we were or have him harass me with endless texts and calls." Reika shrugged. "I chose the easy way out."
"Wakatoshi needs to talk to Yuki-chan." Tendou sent a knowing smirk to Wakatoshi, but the Ace ignored it. "Right, Wakatoshi-kun?"
"That's right." Wakatoshi nodded in agreement, although his eyes were focused on Yukina the entire time.
"She's a bit busy with Mitsuki, so you're going to have to wait your turn." Kazusa told the Ace. "Since we have some extra hands, you can help us clean up."
"I came to watch my ship sail, not clean!" Tendou pouted.
"You don't own a ship, Tendou." Wakatoshi said. "What ship are you talking about?"
"Ignore him, Wakatoshi." Semi said. "Let's just help the girls clean so you can talk to Kurosawa." Reika and Semi sent Tendou disapproving looks as Reika instructed the boys where to put the stray equipment as Kazusa and Jin stayed with Tendou.
"Don't say anything else!" Jin hissed. "Leave him and Kurosawa-chan alone."
"Yeah." Kazusa said. "Plus, you did interrupt Mitsuki's extra practice. The least you could do is help us clean up."
Tendou didn't say anything else as Jin eventually threatened him with extra serve practice which the middle blocker didn't want. As they all cleaned, Yukina helped Mitsuki improve her techniques which the first-year was grateful for. About an hour later, Kazusa, Mitsuki and Reika were all showered and cleaned up as Yukina and everyone else walked back to their dorms with Wakatoshi and her in the rear of the group of swimmers and volleyball players.
"Why did you come to the pool?" Yukina questioned. "Didn't you have practice?"
"We ended an hour early since the school is doing maintenance." Wakatoshi answered. "I also wanted to talk to you."
"Oh." Yukina said. Wakatoshi noticed she didn't blush as she usually did or said something that she thought was offensive or embarrassing. "What is it?"
"May I have your number?" Immediately a blush flushed her face and Wakatoshi wondered what he did to create such a reaction from her. "It would be good to contact you if I needed your help in the future."
"Oh, okay." Yukina took the Ace's phone from his hands and quickly tapped her fingers on his screen to put her contact information. As she handed it back to him, Wakatoshi seemed to stare at her face for a while as they walked further to the dorms, before turning away. "Yes?"
"The swelling went down." Wakatoshi said, gesturing towards her cheek. Yukina's eyes lit up in recognition to the incident during P.E.
"Yeah, I don't know how you guys could get hit with those balls and stand back up within a few seconds."
"It's because we're volleyball gods!" Tendou shouted from out front.
"We're not volleyball gods, Tendou." Wakatoshi said. As Tendou and Wakatoshi traded barbs with the others listening in amusement, Yukina shook her head at the pair of friends while she wondered what the weekend would have in store with her as Wakatoshi and her would go out.
"So, what do you usually get your mother for her birthday?"
Wakatoshi had texted Yukina before the weekend came, suggesting Sunday when they should go out, with Yukina agreeing immediately. Sunday had come with Wakatoshi and Yukina out of school and practice, leaving them to shop. Wakatoshi and Yukina were in a boutique, as Yukina strolled through the racks pulling out accessories that she thought would work for a present, but Wakatoshi shot down almost every suggestion she gave him.
"A new kimono that she usually wears during parties." Wakatoshi replied. "I give her the same present each year, but I decided to do something different."
"I'm guessing that's where I came in?" Yukina asked as Wakatoshi frowned at the scarf she pulled out from a nearby rack. "Why did you choose me?"
"You seem like you would offer a different opinion." Wakatoshi looked at her calmly as Yukina flushed in embarrassment. "Excuse me if I'm being too presumptive."
"It's okay." Yukina said as she pulled at her denim jacket to distract herself from Wakatoshi's words. "Let's head to another store I saw across the street."
Wakatoshi followed Yukina and silently took in her appearance. She wore a purple dress with a denim jacket as Yukina adjusted the straps of the purse that rested against her waist with flats on her feet. Her dark brown waves flowed freely to her waist as Yukina adjusted the uneven bangs that rested against her forehead. Wakatoshi noted that she looked nice when they first started to walk out of the gates of school which caused her to pull at her outfit nervously since then.
When Yukina and Wakatoshi crossed the street and eventually made it inside their destination, Yukina turned to the Ace.
"What's your mother like?" Yukina asked. "Maybe that'll help us find a gift for her."
"Strict." Wakatoshi plainly said. "She has high expectations for almost everything."
Yukina blinked. "Anything else?"
"She doesn't like over-the-top things that have no value towards it."
"Yet you buy your mother an expensive new kimono each year?" Yukina raised an eyebrow at this, not understanding Wakatoshi's logic.
"My mother is not the type of person who indulges in activities for personal amusement." Wakatoshi said as they went up the escalator to the women's department. "She gets things done without hesitation to walk down a clear path without any unknown obstacles or roadblocks. I admire her."
Yukina didn't say anything as she led Wakatoshi around the store to find an appropriate gift for his mother. Yukina was quiet as Wakatoshi shot down every scarf, piece of jewelry, shoe, and object that she held up for his input. Before Yukina could ask Wakatoshi for another suggestion, her phone started to vibrate. Yukina pulled out her phone to see the new email that displayed on her screen.
Your package has arrived!
"Crap." Yukina said. Wakatoshi turned to her when he noticed the troubled expression on her face.
"Is something wrong?" Wakatoshi asked. He didn't like how she couldn't look him in the eye, as if she was guilty of something.
"I know we're supposed to shop for a present for your mother, but a package arrived for the team earlier than I expected." Yukina said. "Do you mind if we go to the store to grab it?"
"I don't mind." Wakatoshi said. "We haven't been able to make any progress so a distraction would be good for us to think."
"That's good to hear." Yukina led him outside to the busy streets since the weekend was here. '' is one of the best shops, really. I don't get any of my sports gear from anywhere else.'
"Did you say ?" Yukina nodded, confirming his question.
"It's my favorite sports gear store, really."
"I guess it'll be good to check on the store, to see how it's doing."
Yukina wrinkled her eyebrows, not understanding Wakatoshi's words. "What do you mean?"
Wakatoshi looked down to the swimmer as they entered the large sports shop. When an associate came to greet the pair, he gasped when he saw Wakatoshi. He bowed so law, Yukina thought he was going to fall over.
"Ushijima-sama!" he said. "I didn't expect you to visit! Is there anything I can help you or your friend with?"
'Ushijima-sama? What the hell?' Yukina thought.
"Hello, Hitoshi-san." Wakatoshi greeted, unfazed by the attention. Yukina just looked between the two men as they talked, trying to understand what was going on. "Kurosawa."
Yukina focused back to Hitoshi as the overeager associate turned to her. "I'm here to pick up a package."
"Of course!" Hitoshi smiled so wide, Yukina thought his face was going to rip in half. "If you would follow me."
Yukina turned to Wakatoshi who was about to go into another direction. "You're not coming?"
Wakatoshi shook his head. "No, I'm going to talk to the manager."
Yukina watched Wakatoshi's retreating self and turned to Hitoshi in confusion. Takahiro gave her another wide smile and she tried hard not to frown at his attempt to kill her with kindness as they walked to the nearest register. When Hitoshi went into the back room, Yukina could feel stares burning in her back. She turned around to see some of the store associates staring at her wide smiles as they whispered among themselves.
What is going on? Yukina thought.
Hitoshi came back with her package and Yukina hoped that it wasn't as heavy as it looked. As Yukina signed the pad, she was about to grab the package and go, but Hitoshi ran to her side and held it for her.
"I don't mind carrying this for you, Kurosawa-san."
I didn't ask you though, Yukina thought.
"Okay then." Yukina said. "Do you know where Ushijima-san is?"
"He's with the manager." Hitoshi said. "I can take you to them right now."
"Thank you." Yukina said. As they got on the escalator to go upstairs, Hitoshi chatted her ear off and Yukina didn't have the slightest clue why all the store associates tried to get on her good side. She simply nodded and made a few comments just for him to stop talking. Yukina and Hitoshi got to the floor and she followed him in search of Wakatoshi. It didn't take too long, but Yukina found the Ace talking to a middle-age man with a receding hairline. Guessing this was the manager, Yukina stood a respectful distance away as Hitoshi went to talk to the older man and Wakatoshi. Seeing how Yukina had gotten what she needed and how he was done checking out the store, Wakatoshi took the package from Hitoshi and let Yukina outside the store. Since they had been out for hours, Wakatoshi and Yukina decided to get lunch, as both were hungry and needed a break. Wakatoshi led Yukina to a large and busy restaurant. Yukina immediately decided that she liked this place.
"Wakatoshi-kun, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Ichinose-san." Wakatoshi greeted the kind, middle-aged women. "Table for two, please."
"Two?" Wakatoshi turned towards the distracted Yukina who was looking at the restaurant they stood in. Minako's Garden was a large restaurant that had the appearance of a garden itself. From what Yukina could see from behind the host stand, the large restaurant had large windows that provided plenty of light towards the guests who dined in. There were numerous tables and booths that were decorated with greenery and flowers, but it wasn't so much that it was overkill. It seemed that the restaurant catered towards every age group as Yukina saw small families to elderly couples talking lively and animatedly to one another with smiles on their faces. Every inch of the room seemed to provide warmth and Yukina immediately decided that she liked this place.
"Kurosawa." Yukina snapped out of her state to see Wakatoshi and Ichinose staring at the swimmer, with Ichinose smiling while Wakatoshi waited for her to follow. Yukina quickly followed the Ace as they were seated at a table in the back, there table decorated with red roses. Ichinose gave both athletes menus, but Wakatoshi barely looked at it as he watched Yukina look at her menu to decide what to eat, but her eyes kept on flitting up to Wakatoshi.
"Is something on your mind?" Wakatoshi asked, sipping his water that one of the servers gave to him and Yukina.
Yukina put down her menu, giving her full attention to the Ace. "What was all that at ?"
Wakatoshi frowned in confusion. "'All that?'"
"The store associate was being overly nice and you talked about 'checking up on the store,' which was weird."
Wakatoshi stared at Yukina, realizing that she didn't know the fact that most people at school knew already. "My mother's family owns the stores."
Yukina's eyes widened. "Stores? As in all of them?"
Wakatoshi nodded. "Yes. The Ushijima Sports Company owns all the stores in Japan."
Yukina groaned, trying to make sense of what the Ace told her. "Wait. So you're some heir to a large company? How many people know this?"
"I suppose you could say it like that." Wakatoshi said. "I believe most of the school knows already. Almost anyone who plays sports, honestly."
Yukina frowned as old memories resurfaced that she tried desperately to push back in the recesses of her mind. She rubbed her head in pain as Wakatoshi watched her carefully, waiting for her to calm down.
"I did not expect that at all." Yukina said. "You don't seem to be like what I expected at all for an heir to a major company."
"I understand that." Wakatoshi and Yukina gave their menus and orders to a waiter that stopped at their table, promising them to return with their food shortly. When he left, Yukina and Wakatoshi started their conversation back up. "I've met some figures who provide and support towards the stereotypes of the rich."
"Not pleasant, huh?"
"Not at all." Wakatoshi confirmed. "Although, I'm surprised you didn't know."
"I tend to keep away from people like that." Wakatoshi wanted to comment on Yukina's statement, but decided against it. He noticed that she displayed some animosity when she spoke. Her head was turned away from him as she stared out the window. Yukina's hand was clenched into a fist as she furrowed her brows in frustration. Wakatoshi had seen her angry, nervous, embarrassed, and happy, but this state of extreme frustration and panic was something he's never seen.
"I thought Ichinose-san was joking when she said Wakatoshi-kun was here with a date!"
Wakatoshi and Yukina turned towards a woman approaching their table, with their food in each of her hands. Yukina observed the woman as she put their orders in front of them. She was tall and had looked to be in her mid-20's. She had long red hair that stopped at the middle of her back and soft facial features, but her red eyes seemed to be familiar, but Yukina couldn't place it.
"I'm not on a date, Tendou-san." Wakatoshi said.
"Eh!?" Yukina said. "Tendou? Are you related to –"
"Satori's my little brother." The redhead said. "I'm Tendou Minako, Satori's older sister."
"Hello again, Tendou-san." Wakatoshi greeted the older woman who just laughed at the Ace before turning her attention to Yukina. Minako gave Yukina a once-over which caused the swimmer to frown, but Marika just laughed.
"Wakatoshi-kun, stop calling me by my family name." Minako scolded the Ace. "I told you to call me Mina-chan, didn't I?"
"I apologize."
"Still so blunt and honest, I see." Minako said. She turned to Yukina and gave her a warm smile. "Welcome to my restaurant."
"It's amazing." Yukina honestly said. "You and your brother are a lot alike, but you seem to be more reasonable and sane." Yukina turned red, ready to babble out an apology, but Minako just smiled.
"Don't worry!" Minako waved her off. "Our mother said the same exact thing when I came home to visit last month. Although we share many things, I'll be changing my last name in a few short months!"
Yukina and Wakatoshi both looked at each other before looking closer to Minako's hands and finally noticing the engagement ring she wore on her left hand. Wakatoshi, already knowing about the engagement because Tendou told the team when he found out, just watched Yukina as she congratulated Marika who gushed about her fiancé. Despite Yukina giving Marika an honest congratulation, he noticed that her eyes seemed somewhat dead. Marika was too absorbed in talking about her love for her fiancé didn't notice Yukina's lack of emotion in her eyes, but Wakatoshi did.
Marika was called away by an employee, forcing her to leave the young athletes alone. Before she left, she told Wakatoshi and Yukina they could get a free dessert before they left, but also teased them about their relationship.
"You were quiet." Wakatoshi said.
"I was talking to Minako-chan." Yukina frowned, not understanding what the Ace meant.
"Your eyes were quiet when talking about love." Wakatoshi clarified. Your eyes didn't seem to hold that much emotion when you were talking to Tendou-san, despite the smile you wore on your face."
Yukina's frown deepened, and Wakatoshi wondered if he insulted her. "I didn't realize how well you could read me."
"You're not a book, Kurosawa."
Wakatoshi's plain words brought a small smile to Yukina's face. "I meant that you're good at seeing my emotions." Wakatoshi and Yukina started to eat and Yukina fell in love with Minako's food. After a spoonsful of her fried rice, Yukina swallowed and looked back up to Wakatoshi. "I don't necessarily believe in love."
Wakatoshi looked up from his plate. "You don't?"
"No." Yukina stretched slightly, realizing that she needed to get comfortable for a talk with Wakatoshi that was sure going to take some time. "I don't necessarily see the benefits. I mean, Minako-chan is all happy, but what happens if something goes wrong in the future? What happens if something prevents her from loving her soon-to-be-husband?"
"That's a negative way of looking at love."
"Perhaps." Yukina shrugged. "But can you honestly tell me that love will equal happiness in the future?"
"I cannot." Wakatoshi said. "Although happiness isn't always defined by romantic love."
"Then what do you define happiness as?" Yukina said after eating another spoonful of her rice.
Wakatoshi looked at her in thought before answering. "I cannot speak on the world's point of view of happiness. Every single person has their own view of happiness."
"That's true." Yukina agreed, but not entirely. "But most people always assume that their future will entail some type of journey with love that started to blossom when they were in middle or high school."
"Is that why you don't like the attention that the student body gives you when they assume we're dating?"
"Yeah." Yukina admitted. "It's annoying."
"I'm sorry for putting you in these awkward positions."
"It's okay, it's not your fault." Yukina said, waving Wakatoshi's worries away. "Most of the school has a crazy idea on our relationship even though we're friends."
Wakatoshi nodded. "I don't believe you're wrong when you talk about love as everyone has their own opinions on the topic. Although I don't necessarily believe that love ends up being negative in all aspects of life. There are couples that make love work and I praise them for that, whether it's through dating or marriage."
"Then what do you believe love is?"
"I believe love falls into two categories: familial and romantic." Wakatoshi said. "I have familial love in my life which is a great influence, but I do not believe in romantic love due to my familial relationships. Romantic love will only serve as a distraction to the greater things in life."
"Really?"
Wakatoshi nodded. "Yes. My parents divorced when I was young so I do not see the appeal of falling in love." Yukina just nodded, accepting his confession, although Wakatoshi approved of her not apologizing. Whenever he told people that his parents were divorced, they gave him a certain look and always said 'I'm sorry,' but it didn't really bother him. His parents were divorced and there was nothing he could do about that.
"So, what is the greater thing in your life?"
"Volleyball." Wakatoshi said. "I intend to make the National team in the future. Dating or any form of romantic love is something that would be a roadblock towards that goal."
"So you would condemn yourself to loneliness because of your past? Noble, but foolish Ushijima." Yukina said. "Although, it's quite hypocritical for me say such a thing since I don't believe in love because of the past." Yukina looked up towards the red roses that hung above them, smiling sadly. "It's quite ironic that two people who don't believe in the idea of love are sitting under the symbol of love itself: a red rose."
Wakatoshi and Yukina had said nothing else, eventually finishing off their food with Wakatoshi paying the check. When Minako spotted them leaving, she gave them a box of pastries to share and bid them goodbye. They had spoken for more than an hour and still haven't found a gift for Wakatoshi's mother. When Wakatoshi suggested they could try again another day, Yukina refused, as they wouldn't have much free time left when their competitions started for their respective sports. Yukina had eventually spotted a small store that caught her attention. It was small and looked out of place next to the high-end shops surrounding it, which caused her to drag Wakatoshi into it.
With the owners help, he had given them some recommendations and both had looked around the small store. While Yukina was checking out the paintings, Wakatoshi's eyes landed onto a set of picture frames. The set of picture frames came in three sizes: small, medium, and large. They each had a gray frame and had the kanji for numerous words carve into each one. Wakatoshi picked them up and headed towards Yukina whose eyes were locked onto a painting. Wakatoshi looked over her shoulder to see an intimate scene.
Wakatoshi may not have the artistic eye, but he admitted that the painting was quite unique. The painting depicted a scene of waves crashing into one another with a girl standing on the edge of a cliff, her arms outstretched as if she were embracing the setting sun.
"You should buy it." Wakatoshi said. Yukina jumped in shock, turning around to see Wakatoshi peering down at her.
Yukina turned towards the Ace. "No way, we're here for you." Yukina looked at the frames he held and took it from his hands, inspecting them. "They're great."
Wakatoshi nodded and both Yukina and him left to pay and eventually leave to go back to school. As they got into the cab, Yukina had felt herself drift off, but she couldn't fight the exhaustion that seeped into her bones. Wanting to ask Yukina a question, Wakatoshi turned towards the swimmer but smiled lightly as he saw her fast asleep.
We have been out for hours, Wakatoshi thought.
When the cab arrived at the gates of Shiratorizawa, Wakatoshi paid the driver and lightly nudged Yukina awake. When she woke to see Wakatoshi staring down at her, a blush came onto her face when she realized he must have noticed her fall asleep in the cab. They had gotten out and Wakatoshi had given Yukina the box of sweets and her package from earlier in the day.
"Thank you, Kurosawa." Wakatoshi said.
"You're welcome." Yukina said, giving him a sleepy smile. When Yukina noticed he was about to go in a different direction, she spoke up. "You're not headed back to your room?"
"No." Wakatoshi shook his head. "Tendou is in Shirabu and Kawanishi's room and asked me to come over."
Tendou's probably gonna interrogate him about today, Yukina thought.
Yukina said goodbye to Wakatoshi and the Ace left to the second-years dorm, entering Shirabu and Kawanishi's shared room after the middle blocker came down to get his Captain.
"Wakatoshi-kun, how was your date?"
"It wasn't a date, Tendou." Wakatoshi said, as he looked at his friend eat some snacks at Shirabu's desk. Shirabu rolled his eyes at Tendou, attempting to focus back on his homework while Kawanishi just shook his head in amusement as he played a game on his phone.
"You went to get a present for your mom, right Ushijima-san?" Shirabu asked.
"Yes." Wakatoshi answered, looking down at the bag that contained his mother's gift.
"How was Yuki-chan!?" Tendou shouted, earning a glare from Shirabu which he ignored. "Tell me everything!"
"You're acting like some gossiping old lady, Tendou." Kawanishi commented from his bed.
"I wanna know, Taichi!"
"Tendou-san, I will kick you out if you continue to yell." Shirabu said. Tendou pouted, but decided to stop shouting since Shirabu was scary when he couldn't get his studying done. "When you leave Ushijima-san, make sure to drag Tendou out as well, please."
"Rude." Tendou said.
"Do you want Shirabu to throw a book at your head?" Kawanishi asked his fellow middle blocker, not wanting to have to deal with Shirabu's irate state for the rest of the weekend or with him accidentally setting a ball at Tendou's face.
"Tendou, stop irritating Shirabu." Wakatoshi told his friend, hoping that Tendou would attempt to listen for once in his life. "Kurosawa was fine."
Tendou perked up at hearing Yukina's name. "Do you still find Yuki-chan interesting?"
"No." Wakatoshi said, earning shocked looks from his three teammates, wondering what happened with Yukina for Wakatoshi to say such a thing. "She's more interesting than I thought."
As Wakatoshi was lost in thought, the three volleyball players shared a look of confusion before Tendou smirked in amusement at his captain.
Things are about to get interesting, Tendou thought.
A/N: Like it? Love it? Hate it? Let me know through a review! Just a reminder, i'll try to post a chapter next week but don't expect another update for another two weeks since I have classes which will definitely keep me from writing new chapters.
NEXT CHAPTER: Formidable Opponents