Chapter 9:
Yachi received a shopping list from Shimizu and Takeda-sensei for the stay away games in Tokyo. According to Yachi's observation, she also needed to buy some several things for the team to help them get through future trainings and matches. If they have to go on full head-to-head with other powerhouses of volleyball teams, then Karasuno should be prepared 100%.
So with bunch of lists in her phone, Yachi manages to go to the supermarket after school to buy things according to the shopping list. Food and medicine, it seems that those are the things needed the most for the stay away game. Unfortunately, Yachi could only find several things at the supermarket so she had to go to another store in the other side of the neighborhood to get the rest of things.
"Rolling tape and some eye drops. Oh, I almost forgot to buy the ice packs – there are a lot of things that I need to buy here." Yachi muttered as she looked on her phone to read off from her shopping list.
She heads towards the food isles where she needed to buy some snacks for the team. She knew how much the second years liked eating seaweed chips and the third years mentioned to her that they wanted some gummies for their trip. Yachi was off to find some of the mentioned snacks first before she moved elsewhere.
She was so distracted by the isles while she searches to find where the gummies packs were that she accidentally bumped into someone when she moves along the isle in concentration.
"S-sorry!" She apologized instantly when she bumped into the other person. Her heart stopped momentarily when she looked up to see who she had bumped.
A spiky dark haired tall boy with a menacing face, wearing the jersey of the Aoba Johsai volleyball uniform.
'Hieeee!' Yachi internally screamed as she recognized the name of the school and the colors. 'The school that the team recently fought against the last match!'
"I'm s-sorry!" She apologized again, wavering a little.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't see you there." He replied calmly. He then sees her pale expression and her eyes darting to the jersey of his uniform. Perhaps this timid little girl seems to know who he is or at least, the team he plays for.
"I-it's fine. It's probably my fault for being too short." Yachi replied and shut herself up. Hitting her brain internally and screaming to herself 'Why did I say that?!'
Somehow her comment made the other guy chuckle. 'Eh? He found it funny?'
"That's funny." He says softly before he moves aside, "Sorry for bumping to you."
After he says that, he moves aside and looked to the other part of the shelves. Perhaps he's also looking for some specific snack as well. Yachi was about to move away when she spotted the pack of gummies that she had been looking for.
The problem was that the pack of gummies was quite high – right on the top shelves where she can't really reach them without jumping like a bunny.
'I just need to grab two packs.' She then tries to stand on her toes as she reaches her arm towards the top shelves and grab the gummies packs on the edge of the shelves. It was getting quite difficult because she finds herself huffing and jumping to grab it but she only manages to touch it with the tips of her fingers only.
Then, a shadow suddenly looms over her and an arm stretched out towards the pack of gummies that she wanted to take. Yachi was so startled that she yelped at the sudden hand coming from above her and she turned around quickly to find the Aoba Johsai spiky dark haired boy reaching for it.
He was standing right behind her with his tall figure looming over her. From her height she was able to see the broad shoulders and the long neck shown towards her before he looked down at her fully. His eyes sharp and clear, a familiar expression she often sees on the captain of Karasuno's volleyball team.
Yachi's heart started pounding hard on to her chest and she finds herself feeling embarrassed over this whole moment. She was also caught off guard by their distance and his face to which Yachi was startled to find that he was indeed quite charming.
"You need this?" He manages to grab two packs of them and hand it over to Yachi.
Yachi was so startled by his previous action that she wasn't able to say anything remotely after a few seconds of his question.
Just as she was about to open her mouth and answer him, only a high pitched sound of a hiccup came out instead.
'So embarrassing!' Yachi felt her entire face bursting with redness down to her neck as she made a grimacing expression while she covers her lips with her hands.
The other boy seemed to be surprised by the sudden sound that came out of her mouth but it cleared up his confusion when another hiccup came out of her again despite how much she tries to suppress her sound with her hands on her lips.
Yachi didn't notice as the other guy, who started watching her, finds himself zoning his eyes onto her as he inspects every part of her face.
A small girl who looks like she's the size of a duckling with blonde hair and cute starry pins on her hair while she looks up to you with her dolly brown eyes, his heart was also hammering against his chest in rapid heartbeats.
'C-cute.' He found the word echoing in his brain as he watches Yachi with her face flushed in adorable pink and face puffed into lovely embarrassed expression.
Yachi's hiccups keep on continuing but she manages to voice out her words despite her hiccups. "Thank – you. I'm so – sorry for – bothering you."
"N-not at all." He steps back once he gave her the pack of gummies. "Are you alright?"
"It's – o-okay. W-was just – surprised." Yachi replied with her hiccups again.
"Iwa-chan!"
The two of them turned to where the newcomer's voice came from. Yachi's eyes widened again when she sees three other boys who wore similar jerseys as the boy who stood in front of her.
'T-tall!' She finds herself staring at them with bewilderment at their height.
There was one with the styled-curly brown hair with handsome features who looked over to them with perplexed expression. The other two boys had similar expression, one with strangely shortcut dark pink hair and another one with short-spiky cut dark brown hair.
Yachi's hiccups came out again from her lips as she covers her mouth with her hands again. And somehow her action made the three boys on the other side of the isle stared at her and the boy in front of her with caution eyes.
"Oi, oi – Iwaizumi. Did you do something to her?" The dark pink haired boy said.
The boy who was standing in front of her was called Iwaizumi, Yachi figured out. "I didn't do anything illegal!" He replied back sharply, already disliking the thoughts that went through his friends' heads.
"Iwa-chan! You shouldn't bully girls who are way smaller than you." The curly brown haired on commented with a pout as walked over to them. He then looks at Yachi with bright eyes and smiled at her with a charming look, "Are you okay, little birdy?"
Yachi who finds herself way in more trouble than she thought she would be, hiccups again, but managed to word out excuses. "I'm sorry – sorry for bothering you. T-thank you for the – gummies. Excuse – me."
And she was able to slip out from them and ran away.
"Ah there she goes. You scared her too much, Iwa-chan."
"Shut up, shittykawa!" Iwaizumi barked in annoyance.
Yachi managed to buy all the things she needed so all she had to do was to head home and pack for the trip. She carries the groceries bags on her hands and felt regretful that she wasn't as athletic as the others so she has to carry the bags with short breaks to rest her hands on the way back home.
Unknown to her, Yachi was left in a hurry that she didn't realize when one of her starry pins fell from her hair and dropped on the ground on the entrance of the store.
Iwaizumi managed to pick up the familiar looking starry pin from the ground and inspected it closely. Remembering the same pin that he stared previously on the timid looking blonde haired girl with the dazzling eyes he met earlier.
"Did you pick up a toy, Iwaizumi? You're such a kid."
"Shut up Matsukawa." Iwaizumi grumbled as he kept the starry pin in his hand.
Oikawa zoomed in closer to him and grabbed the starry pin, "Hm? What is that?"
"Nothing." Iwaizumi shakes off Oikawa from his hand but the other boy seemed to smile wider at his best friend's action.
"Ara ara…are you trying to keep secrets about the girl you met earlier from me?" Oikawa said in a mischievous tone. "I know you had it in you, Iwa-chan!"
The dark haired spiky boy greeted his teeth in annoyance and hit Oikawa's butt with his leg, making the other boy flinched in pain from his bottom. "Ack! Iwa-chan, that hurts!"
On Friday night at Karasuno high school, the volleyball team gathered to prepare for their trip to Tokyo. Yachi was helping Kiyoko with loading the bags and their necessities while trying to re-check everything.
"We just need to carry our personal bag along with the bag that carries the first aid kit. We're done for now, you can go to the bathroom if you want before we go." Kiyoko says as she puts the last bag inside the bus.
"It's okay. I already went." Yachi replied.
"Good. I'm going to go there now. Make sure to stay around so you don't miss the bus."
"Yes, senpai."
As soon as the older manager left, Yachi spotted Hinata and Kageyama who was watching them all with a look of gloom on their face. Yachi hops over to them and greeted, "Hello. Everything okay?"
"Yachi-san! Do you need help with everything else?" Hinata asked.
Yachi shook her head, "Everything set up now. We'll be leaving in a few minutes I think."
"Is that so." Hinata trailed off sadly as he looks beyond Yachi and looked at the view with regret.
"You both are going to ace the remedial and catch us up in Tokyo sooner than you think. Right, Hinata? Kageyama-kun?"
Hinata's face brightened at her words as he gave her a thumbs up. "Of course! We're going to ace it and make it to Tokyo! We'll be as fast as lightning!"
Yachi laughs at Hinata's expression of words. "I'll look forward to your arrival."
"You better live up to your words, idiot." Kageyama commented.
"Who says that I won't, huh?!" Hinata sneered back.
As they both face off each other with rowdy expressions, Tsukishima passed by and commented, "Can you both even mark at least 80 points with short days studying for the remedial tomorrow? What a joke."
His words seemed to hit the two boys in a bad nerve and they both instantly slumped over the words with dark expressions.
"Hinata? Kageyama-kun?" Yachi called them in hopes to lift them away from their cloudy look.
At this moment, Tanaka stepped in and leaned over to the boys. "Come on guys! What's with the gloom and doom look?" He spoke out as he patted on their shoulders. "Just pass your exam tomorrow and let your savior I organized to come and drive you."
"You both worked really hard so it'll be okay." Ennoshita added after Tanaka.
Nishinoya makes a fist pump towards them, "Force your way through with guts!"
"Do your best!" Yachi finds herself cheering them as well.
Coach Ukai came together with Takeda-sensei and Kiyoko, calling them all to board the bus now as they were leaving.
Daichi turns to freak duo for the last time, "Well then, we'll be waiting for you both in Tokyo."
"Yes." Hinata and Kageyama saluted gloomily.
The rest of the members started to board on the bus while being watched by Hinata and Kageyama. At this moment, Yachi suddenly turns around and head towards the boys as she let out something out of the pocket of her backpack.
"Hinata. Kageyama-kun. These are for you." She says as she gives them each a box of pocky with different flavors. "Good luck for tomorrow!"
She smiles brightly, face full of encouragement as they boys nodded in return to her gift. Yachi turns around to board on to the bus and took her sat next to Kiyoko and waved at Hinata and Kageyama as the bus drives away.
Kageyama was the first one to look at the pocky and turned the box around to find a message written on the back of it. Hinata noticed Kageyama reading something on the back of his pocky box and also followed him as he turns his own pocky box in his hand.
SEE YOU IN TOKYO, LITTLE GIANT!
"Kageyama." Hinata started.
"Hn?"
Hinata's eyes were glued on the writings of Yachi's message. An ambitious fire lit up in his eyes. "Let's do this. We're going to Tokyo."
"Damn straight we are."