Chapter 8: This Chapter is Really Just a Jumble of Cuteness and Funnies so I Don't Know
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"You know you didn't really need to do this Yachi," Yamaguchi tries to reassure the team manager.
"PLEASE TAKE IT!" she screeched so loud it could be heard for miles, her upper body bowed to a perfect forty-five degree angle while shaking like a leaf. No doubt her eyes were at a verge of tears.
This is what Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were greeted to before morning practice officially began, minutes after Harriet's visit. Yachi, Hitoka sped over to them, shoved bags of cookies she had made into their arms, and barreled apologies before either of them could get a word in. Tsukishima remained collected thought the assault, whereas Yamaguchi was having a near panic attack.
It didn't help that the rest of the team were there watching them.
"It's not fair that you two had be punished when it was I who convinced us to go," she continues somberly. "I couldn't handle the guilt."
"B-But you made up for it by volunteering to clean up the court!" Yamaguchi reasoned.
"But you volunteered to stay and help me, which only made me feel worse!"
At that point, the petrified Yamaguchi silently reached to his best friend for help. Tsukishima only shrugs.
"Just make your girlfriend happy and accept it."
Sometimes Yamaguchi ponders the choice of friends he's made throughout his life. This is one of those times.
Thankfully Shimizu steps in to save him, patting Yachi on the shoulder. "I think you've done more than enough. Yamaguchi and Tsukishima are very grateful for the gift. Isn't that right?"
"Of course we are!" Yamaguchi said quickly and had to elbow-jab the tall blonde's ribs in order for him to respond as well.
Despite the pointed glare he receives from his friend, the happy smile shown on Yachi's face was well worth it.
From there, practice continued on like usual for the Karasuno volleyball team, at least for a while. One should take into account that fights and squabbles is a common and (unfortunately) unavoidable occurrence within the team.
This time it's between Kageyama and Tsukishima. No surprise.
Everyone knows how this goes. Something happens that brings the blond to say one of his snarky comments and in turn, riles up the setter. It goes on back and forth and eventually, someone would have to intervene or else Kageyama would blow a fuse and would attempt to tear Tsukishima limb from limb.
To everyone's surprise, there was plot twist at the end.
Because in the end, after Tsukishima calls him by the cursed nickname: King, Kageyama appears to lose it for about three seconds before pausing and contemplates on something. He just stands there contemplating real hard while staring at the blonde. Nobody knows how to react to this, not even Tsukishima.
"What?" he asks, fed up with the staring.
The setter says nothing to him. Instead, he speaks to Hinata who stood nearby.
"Hey, which do you think is worse, having King as a nickname or Debbie?"
Tsukishima tenses up.
"Hmm, well to me, King is an awesome nickname to have while Debbie just sounds embarrassing. Imma go with Debbie," Hinata answers thoughtfully.
Kageyama nods. "Thought so."
Another thing that should be taken to account when on the Karasuno volleyball team,
Mayhem.
Simple as that.
"Oi oi! What are you two talking about?" asks Tanaka.
"Yeah, where did Debbie come from?" Nishinoya followed.
Alarm bells were blasting in all of Tsukishima's sensors, if the mischievous glint in Kageyama's blue orbs were anything to go by.
'Let's see how you like it?' those eyes read.
"Thompson-san gave Tsukishima that nickname not too long ago," he explained.
"Because he's a Debbie Downer!" Hinata shouted.
"Thompson-san?" Tanaka muddled.
"Oh! You mean that scary chick who almost murdered Tsukishima yesterday?" asked Nishinoya, ignoring the strangled gasps from Asahi, Sugawara, and Daichi. "She's calling him Debbie now?"
Kageyama and Hinata gave nods to both questions and as expected, the second years were on the floor, laughing like hyenas. Much to Tsukishima's displeasure.
"Oh my god, why haven't we thought of that?!" Tanaka barked between laughs.
"I dunno but that chick is a mad genius!"
"She's not a genius," Tsukishima muttered, scowl marring his face. "She's an immature nuisance. The type I'm unfortunately surrounded by on a near daily basis."
"Something tells me you wouldn't say that to her face or else you will get murdered," says Kageyama.
"With all due respect Your Majesty, but could you please shut up?"
"That's enough all of you!"
The group jumps at Sugawara's voice and shivered at his wide smile, which did not express anything close to happiness.
"There will be no more discussions of murder in this court. Everyone back to practice."
They didn't need to be told twice. Sugawara could be just as frightening as Daichi.
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After practice Yamaguchi and Yachi stood outside the clubrooms, patiently waiting for Tsukishima to join them before they head to class. Apparently Sugawara, the worried mother hen he is, had cornered the middle blocker to ask if everything was alright between him and this girl who apparently wants to 'murder' him and to be assured that the word 'murder' is not at all in a literal sense.
"I wonder why those two aren't getting along so well," Yachi mutters while her fingers lace with Yamaguchi's, an act that has developed by instinct during their time together. "I mean, neither of them appear to be social so you'd expect they'd avoid each other, not fight."
Yamaguchi nods. "Tsukki really isn't the social type, neither is Thompson-san. I was surprised too, the way they interacted yesterday."
What happened yesterday made him think back to why Tsukishima had him return the missing phone to her instead of doing it himself. At first, Yamaguchi thought it was just Tsukishima being... well Tsukishima and didn't question it. Then he thought of Thompson's first day in class, where Tsukishima went pale out of nowhere. After the event, moments after the clash, Yamaguchi had to corner the blonde and demand an explanation. "Apparently, Tsukki met Thompson-san last Sunday, a day before she attended our school. He wanted to buy a CD she was going buy and decided to act rude in order to get it. He didn't think it'd be a big deal."
Yachi giggled at Yamaguchi's exasperated sigh, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of his palm. "And he never would've expected that a day later, he'd meet her again as his new classmate."
"I told him that was karma just to spite him," he grinned. "Because as much as I adore our friendship, he really did deserve that."
Tsukishima appeared minutes later, looking ready to end the world.
"So how did it go?" Yamaguchi asked as the three walked together, him and Yachi still holding hands.
"Horrible. Suga and Daichi deduced that I'm having girl problems and suggest I talk to her."
"Daichi was there to?"
"Unfortunately."
Yamaguchi could imagine how awkward it must've been for him to receive girl advice from two of his seniors. "So are you?"
Tsukishima fixed him a glare and said, "I'm not going anywhere near that vulture."
"You can't do that!"
Yamaguchi was surprised to find that come from Yachi as she stands in front of Tsukishima, her small form shaking because of the middle-blocker's intimidating height, but she held her ground.
"Don't forget, this all started because you were mean to her before she attended school! It's your fault so you have to apologize!"
Tsukishima stares down at her, eyebrows raised and utterly speechless, and the silence made Yachi tremble even more, thinking she may have gone too far and stepped on personal boundaries.
"I… I mean-"
"Who told you that?" He didn't sound mad. It was just a simple question, but the question made the couple jerk. It was enough for the blonde to fit the pieces and glare at Yamaguchi again.
"C-Come on Tsukki, we're together now," he reasoned. "I can't keep everything from her."
"Is that so," Tsukishima muttered darkly. "Then why don't you tell her about the time you mistook a condom for gum and-"
"I was nine!" Yamaguchi shouted, face turning scarlet. "And I told you we don't talk about that! Ever!"
"What? I feel Yachi needs to know who she's dealing with."
Poor Yamaguchi groaned, his face buried in his palms. Yachi, despite her cheeks turning just as red, reached up to reclaim the freckled boy's hand in her own.
"It's okay Yamaguchi. When I was twelve, the kids at my school asked if I was a virgin. I didn't know what the term meant so thinking it must've meant something bad I said no…" Her mouth twisted painfully, recalling the memory. "Rumors began spreading because of that."
Yamaguchi tightened his grip on their joint hands. "That's horrible."
She laughed. "The teachers were able to put a stop to it so it's fine, but had to call my mom and she had to explain to me what a virgin is. It was very awkward."
"My mother caught me and had to explain that condoms are not for eating and tried not to go into detail when I asked her what it's for."
"That's it. I'm done. I can't deal with this." Tsukishima abandons the couple, his hands raised in defeat. "If you're going to talk about awkward sex stories, do it when I'm not present."
"You're the one who brought up the subject!" Yamaguchi shouted at his back. The couple snickered and moves to catch up with the unfortunate blonde.
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"HARRIET!"
Minutes before class officially began, more than half the students present were greeted with the sight of Junichi Kenta, the star performer of yesterday's club event. He storms into the room, his face hot with anger while his target attempts to appear as small and unnoticeable as possible in her desk.
Because he was at a safe distance, Tsukishima could laugh at the girl's despair as she was given an earful from her cousin for leaving home early without anyone's knowledge. He proceeds to then give her a bento lunch she forgot to take with her while still talking his mouth off and forced her to promise to never scare the family like that again. She grumbles in response, likely an apology because Kenta seemed satisfied enough and wasn't yelling anymore.
The tension simmered down and the two were just talking. Onlookers went back to their business and Tsukishima grew bored, finding nothing interesting happening between them. He caught the boy motioning towards Thompson's guitar case and suddenly starts talking enthusiastically. Tsukishima continues to watch despite himself, noticing the how the girl tries to match Kenta's spirit, but just looks subdued.
When Kenta leaves, likely returning to his own homeroom, Thompson remains quiet. She's always quiet, never really speaking throughout class other than the teacher calls on her. But this type of quiet looked different to Tsukishima. The best way he could describe it, seeing her stare at her guitar and then out the window; she seemed… closed off. Empty. A hollow shell with no life in it.
"Are you alright Tsukki? You're spacing out."
"I'm fine." He turns away quickly before Yamaguchi could pinpoint what he's staring at. If he finds out, he'll try to get him to 'talk to her' and 'apologize' again. And if there's one thing Tsukishima is known for, it's that he's never apologetic.
Especially towards demonic vultures who call him Debbie.
Debbie…
He shivers. Just the sound of it pisses him off. That's the type of name given to pets. And Tsukishima is no pet.
Yup, that demon disguised as a foreign female student deserves no apologies from him, and no one (not even Yamaguchi or Yachi) is going to convince him otherwise.
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"Um Yachi-san, is it alright if I borrow your highlighters?"
"Oh! Sure, go ahead!"
Masami raised a brow. "You forgot yours again Kenta-kun?"
"I-I was in a hurry this morning!"
"And pretty soon you're going to forget your brain."
"Don't be like that…" Junichi pouted.
"Sometimes you're just as bad as Hiroki-sempai."
"Now that's going too far!"
Masami smirked and Yachi giggled. The three were in a group together for an in-class assignment. At first, when the teacher announced this, Yachi didn't know who she should assemble with, not really knowing anybody in her class except for Orabella Masami, who she knew back in middle school.
The two never talked much, but Masami had always been nice to her, even shielded her away from bullies in junior high. Still Yachi never considered her as a friend because like Shimizu, Yachi feels Masami to be way out of her league. From her first year in middle school, Orabella Masami was a model student. With perfect grades, perfect attendance, talented, wealthy, half-Italian, and cute as a doll, students and teachers adored her. Like in her first meeting with Shimizu, Yachi believes that if an average girl like her befriends Masami, other students would set out to hunt for her head.
So imagine her surprise when she was given an invite by Masami and her other classmate Junichi Kenta, to their secret club event two days ago. And today, immediately after the teacher tells the students to get in groups of three, Masami stands, drags Kenta by the sleeve and makes a beeline to Yachi's desk.
"Pardon me Yachi-chan, may we join your group?" she asks politely.
"That is, if you don't mind," Kenta quickly adds.
Yachi tries her very best to avoid the many pairs of eyes on them while nodding stupidly, her voice unable to function. And that's how she finds herself in this predicament, being paired with a model student and a gifted musician. It was a dangerous situation to be in and Yachi fears she may not make it home alive.
And yet as they continue to work together, she was able to warm up to them easily. Kenta was a kindhearted gentleman and acts shy whenever he's given compliments. Masami was also kind, at times impassive and earnest. For someone who's always obedient and follows school rules like they're the Ten Commandments, Masami surprised everyone with her involvement in the Unlimited Sound Club and graciously accepted the consequences for hosting and unauthorized event. Yachi has never seen her do something so bold and risky.
"So I hear you're club manager for the boys' volleyball club," she says. "How is it?"
"Well…" the blonde chuckles nervously. "It wasn't my first choice. I didn't know which club I wanted to be in. I'm still learning the ropes and though at first it was a scary experience, it's really fun and I got to learn so much about volleyball!"
Masami smiles at her. "That's good to hear. I'm glad high school's going well for you Yachi-chan."
Yachi's face heats up at the kind words, still confused as to why she's being so friendly towards her. She decides not to dwell on it for now.
"S-Speaking of which, I've been wondering, what made you want to join a music club? Since middle school, you were always selected as head of the student council. Were you not asked this year?"
"I was actually, but I refused," Masami responds. Her smile was something that held a hidden meaning when she then says, "As for why I took interest in Kenta-kun's club, let's just say I want things to be different from now on."
Obviously, that confused her, not having any idea what she could mean by that. She turns to Kenta, hoping he may have a clue. He shrugs his shoulders.
"Your guess is as good as mine Yachi-san, but we're glad to have her. She's a great pianist and when I introduced her to the keytar, she fell in love with it straight away! And she's a really quick learner-OUCH! Masami-chan why did you kick me?!"
"By the way, Hari-chan is now joining us," she says casually, as if she hadn't just kicked Junichi under the joint desks.
"Oh, that's your cousin right Kenta-san?" Yachi asks. "I didn't know she plays instruments too!"
"Yeah, she plays the guitar," Kenta says while rubbing his shin. "She's really good at it too, but…"
Yachi tilts her head. "What is it?"
"Well, she's just having a few setbacks, but with all of us there to support her, it should be fine. That's what I'm hoping for anyway." He laughs. "The event yesterday helped with that."
"You were really amazing Kenta-san."
They boy blushes spectacularly and rubs his neck, eyes fixed to the papers on his desk.
"Aha, I wasn't that great. I couldn't be without Takeo-san-OW! Stop kicking me!"
Masami sighs. "Why must we have such a frail president?"
Junichi slams his head on his desk. "Now I know how Hiroki feels…" he groans.
Yachi could not contain her giggles. If the class was staring at them again, she paid them no mind.
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At lunchtime, Harriet snuck her way to the roof again. The last time she stumbled upon it, the door to the outside had been locked and didn't appear to be used for a long time, or had been used very little. However, the lock equipped looked new in contrast to the old rusty door itself. She found it odd. It did nothing to stop her though. It's just like her old school and she's learned to pick locks at an early age. Not for anything bad, only when it was really necessary.
Yes, breaking into the instructor's desk to retrieve her 3DS because her douche of a math teacher confiscated it was extremely necessary, but we're getting off-topic here.
The roof is nice. The roof is empty of other students, so she figured it'd be a good spot for a hideout. Once Jun announced that the club will be having practice after school, Harriet felt the need to come here again.
"Dammit, fuck!" she cursed when she messed up again on a rather complicated set of notes. She grips the tail of her guitar and forced her breathing to calm.
She has practiced the moment she settled herself on the roof, her lunch Junichi brought for her long forgotten in her bag. Every time she makes a mistake, she grows more and more frustrated; her plays get more aggressive, causing her to make even more mistakes. Eventually, she stops, screams more curses and tugs at her hair.
She did fine before, how come she's sucking so bad now?
"You need to stop straining yourself. You'll only accomplish so little."
Harriet jumps up and reels around, shocked to find anyone else up here other than herself. She was even more shocked to see it was one of the Unlimited Sound Club members, Kazuhiko Takeo.
Tall as he is, with the strength that could take on ten men, intimidating in every way, Takeo looked sheepish as he came out from the darkness of his hiding spot, notebooks and lunch in hand.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," he apologized. "I honestly didn't know you'd be here, and I couldn't help listening to you practice, thus invading your privacy. You have every right to be upset."
Harriet's shoulders slumped. Sure, when she first met him she was surprised to find his personality not matching his appearance. This however, she did not expect. Who would've thought that underneath all that muscle was a young man just as gentlemanly as Jun?
Takeo must've taken the stunned silence as a bad sign, for he quickly said, "I can leave if you want."
"No!" That sounded way too high a squeaky and she blushed. "I mean, it's fine. I'm not mad. Embarrassed yes, but not mad."
Takeo still wasn't sure. "The last thing I want is to make you uncomfortable so-"
"Oh my god just shut up and sit!" She rolls her eyes and sits back down. Takeo caught her mutter "I swear you're just like Jun…" which made him smile a bit as he accepts the invitation, sitting near her but giving enough personal space between them.
The silence was deafening and for a while, neither of them knew what to say or if they should even speak at all. Takeo scratched into one of his notebooks while Harriet fiddles idly with Amour.
"You know, this rooftop was easily accessible to students years back," Takeo broke the silence. Harriet was grateful. She glanced up, looking somewhat interested. "Unfortunately, that's no longer the case. Karasuno holds many dark secrets, this one being the number of accidents and suicides it underwent. The numbers were… atrocious, and some say that coming up here brings bad luck and you risk cutting your life short. That was a long time ago, and the school was good at covering it up since."
"Sounds like something straight from a novel," Harriet quips, grinning. "And despite knowing all that, you still come here?"
The third-year shrugs. "This place may have had a bad history, but I've made visits here since my first year. I only knew about that story recently from Hiroki. Trust me, I didn't want to believe him, but the documents he was able to squander out states otherwise."
"Don't forget, it's also where we first met~"
Takeo sighs. "Speak of the devil…"
Harriet spots Saru Hiroki at the door, grin big and filled with mirth as he waltz his way over to them.
"Indeed this school holds many secrets and this one was one of my favorites when I was a first year," he continues. "When I discovered it, I immediately wanted to come here. You know, to see if the area was haunted or if it's laced with a curse that rubs off on you if you enter. Instead, I got Takeo-kun!"
"And in the end, I was cursed," he mutters. Hiroki pouts. He ignores it. "What are you doing here?"
"You wound me Sempai," he makes a dramatic show of a fallen maiden.
"Saru…"
The maroon-head chuckles. "Oh alright. Well, Kenta-chan is being a worrywart again, unable to find his precious Hari-chan~" Harriet's face reddens at the second year's choice of words. "So he asked me for help and my first thought was to come see you. And lo and behold, here she is! Hari-chan, you need to stop giving our president a heart attack. If we lose him, then I'm afraid you'll have to take his place."
Her eyes became saucers. "W-What?! But… I can't-"
"Then be a good girl and don't go running off okay?" Hiroki winks and takes his leave. "I'm going back to Kenta-chan now so he can breathe normally again. See you in practice!"
Hiroki disappears and Takeo sees Harriet shaking in fear. He sighs again.
"Don't mind him. He has a habit of getting under peoples' skin. You won't be president if you don't want to."
She sighs in relief and chuckles. "That guy is quite something isn't he?"
Takeo nods. "As someone who's known him the longest, he's a handful, a thorn to one's side, and a pest you can't get rid of no matter what you do. If you get passed the annoyance and his troublemaking ways, he's actually helpful, loyal, and all around a good person. That part is between you and me by the way."
"My lips are sealed."
"Thanks."
Silence reappears between them, again not knowing what to say. Curious, Harriet decides to peek at what the taller teen's been writing in his notebooks.
Music notes. She then remembers the supervisor, Ima-sensei, mention that the song performed at yesterday's event was composed by Takeo.
"One of the reasons why I come here is to think of fresh ideas." Harriet tenses from getting caught, but Takeo didn't seem to mind, probably because he did the same to her earlier. "Life is always… busy for me. I rarely get time where it's just myself and my thoughts. I've always loved mixing sounds together. I don't know why, it's just something I love doing."
"You must be quite the star then, with talent like that," she says, quirking a smile. "You've probably been asked to join many clubs."
Takeo's writing stops.
"I have actually, but not for reasons you think. I've always been asked to join sports clubs because of my physique. No one knows of my skills, my passion for music, until yesterday." He gazes listlessly at the papers before him. "Since middle school, I've never joined a single club."
"What?" Harriet stares up at him, dumbfounded. "How come?"
"Like I said, life is busy for me. I'm always needed at home." He doesn't face her, but Harriet could see the way his fist tightens around the pen in his hand. "This will be my last year in high school and this will be my first club. I want to make this last while I still have this chance."
"Takeo…" She couldn't find any words to say. Only questions filled her mind, such as why he couldn't join any clubs when he clearly wants to, but that would be diving into something personal and she could tell Takeo isn't in the mood for sharing. She can understand that, being in the same boat herself. She stares down at his notebooks again.
"Hey…" she says thoughtfully. "Got anything in there I can try out?"
Whatever Takeo expected her to say, it certainly wasn't that, but he seemed thankful for the subject change and fished through his other notebooks.
"There are a few for guitars I made… though none of them are finished."
She grins. "Don't care. Hand'em over big guy."
Harriet didn't know what she was thinking when she proposed this, but finding it too late to chicken out, she just went with it. The rest of their lunch break consisted of her playing the notes Takeo provided, Takeo contemplating, at times tweaking a few sections and having her play again until he likes what he hears.
And Harriet wasn't afraid. It's her first time playing in front of a complete stranger, and she wasn't afraid like she thought she would be. She was enjoying herself immensely and loved the melodies Takeo had written out. She even helps him by coming up with a few ideas of her own on Amour, which he appreciates and finds helpful, and lunchtime ends way too quickly.
"Here, I want you to have this." Takeo hands her a silver key. "It's for the lock. I have a spare so you can have this one. Come by anytime you like."
Harriet grins up at him and nods, storing her new key in her keychain. "Thanks Takeo-sempai. You may not know this, but this has helped me a lot. Just wanted to tell you that."
"I'm glad I could be of help then," he smiles back. "So will I be seeing you in practice after school?"
Her expression becomes that of a sly fox. "You'll also be seeing me more on the roof too. I should warn you though, I can be just as bad as Hiroki, Take-chan~"
Takeo slumps, appearing to have many second thoughts on the choices he's made.
"I really am cursed…"
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