- Chapter 9 -
"I. Walk."
"I Walk. I walked. I have walked. I am walking."
"Yamaguchi and Tsukki. Read the ball."
"They read. They read. They have read. They are reading - that's easy, they all sound the same."
"Okay, moving on - Aoki-san. Write."
"She writes. She wrote. She has wrote–"
"That's wrong." Yachi interrupted Hinata. "What's the past participle of the word 'write'? The third type of verb?"
Hinata thought of it for a bit and then exclaimed. "Oh, oh! Written! She hassu written. She issu writing."
Yachi nodded. "That's correct. Next one, back to Kageyama-kun. Um… the subject is you and me. verb is receive."
Kageyama paused. "But you can't receive a ball with two people. We'll crash into each other."
Yachi blinked cluelessly. "A-alright. Um, you and me. Block. You can block with two people, right?"
"Hai. We block. We blocked. We havvu blocked…"
Yachi was a very good teacher, and perhaps the only one who could control these two erratic boys; kudos to her. Suzuki only listened as the group of three were vocalizing their English along the way down the road. This was in fact the most effective way for memorizing words and grammar. And adding the volleyball and sports theme to it, with terms like block, serve, attack, go to the gym, and so on, Hinata and Kageyama quickly grasped the lesson. Secretly too, she was answering Yachi's lists of words in her mind.
"Do they really fail every class test a lot?" Aoki asked out of the blue. "I mean, those two study fine."
"Well they did show progress lately." Yamaguchi told her. "Last time we gave them a couple of examples of our class quiz and they managed okay. Which is good considering next week is the exam."
The pinch server went on. "For some reason, Hinata's quiz results never reach above thirty. Kageyama had some above the passing grade, but it wasn't consistent. Sometimes he flopped. Most of the time, really." He recalled his read on their quiz papers. "Nervous maybe?"
"Or maybe they're just plain stupid."
"Hey! I heard that Kechishima!"
"Hinata, focus!"
Suzuki chuckled when Mirai had pulled Hinata back in line before the orange-haired boy could throw a swing at the smirking boy behind. Hinata made a face to the other middle blocker instead and engrossed himself fighting against the sharp glare from Tsukishima.
"A-anyway, guys, I was actually thinking…" Hinata began, already abandoning the death stare and turned his attention to the others. "Should we, like, study together or something?"
"Don't we already do that?" Mirai remarked.
"Well, y-yeah, but I mean," the ultimate decoy frowned. "I was thinking about staying over at someone's house and studying there. Like Tanaka-senpai and the rest of the second-years. We haven't done sumthing like that."
Yamaguchi thought out loud. "That doesn't sound too bad. Especially since we don't have practice this week. We can just go somewhere right after school. Right?" he briefly nodded. "You don't have any more practice sessions either, right?"
Suzuki's nod signaled the affirmation for the plan. Well, it was very common that in the last week before exams, all club meetings were to be postponed; in the hope for more study time and better grades. The group went on discussing about the new study arrangement and eventually one question remained unanswered: whose house was it going to be?
Hinata's house was an ultimate no-go, no one wanted to tire themselves for a one hour walk up and down the hill, much to his disappointment. Kageyama also excluded himself as a choice, saying that his father was still in recovery after a surgery and needed a good rest. Funnily enough, the girls were hesitant to offer, but eventually Mirai and Yachi both gave a reasonable argument knowing that their houses were the furthest.
"Tsukki, can we study at your place?" Yamaguchi asked. "Your father is going on a business trip this week, right? Maybe your mother would allow us to come over."
Sometimes, Tsukishima wished Yamaguchi wouldn't be this blunt and upright.
On Tuesday afternoon, free time after school, Tsukishima scanned the scene in front of him. Hinata and Kageyama were bickering about a certain English text and Yachi was having a very hard time to explain; in one corner Yamaguchi and Mirai were discussing Japanese Literature; and then already lazily occupying his bed, his goddamn bed which he just cleaned the sheet this morning, Aoki and Suzuki sprawled in between pillows and bed sheets, their legs dangled by the side of the frame. Two of them weren't even holding a book, they weren't even talking about studying; instead they were watching videos on the phone.
"Hey you two!" Mirai approached them, and with her a bag of chips. "What are you watching?"
"The highlights of the NBA Finals yesterday." Aoki curtly said. "Miami Heat versus Oklahoma Thunder."
"Wait! There's already a highlight? Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner!" And then Mirai practically jumped over the laying bodies and squeezed herself in, leaving Yamaguchi dumbfoundedly staring.
"Hey Mirai, what about the quiz? We still have a few questions left." He complained.
"After this!" Mirai exclaimed, munching. "Let's have a break anyway. I've been sitting on the floor for almost an hour."
"I guess that makes sense. We've been going on for a while now. Let's have a time out." Yamaguchi happily stood up and took a spoonful of brownies on the table. "Yachi-san, Hinata, Kageyama, let's have a rest. Here, there's still some left. You want some?"
"Of course! Gimme! Gimme—"
"Goddammit. Quiet down, Hinata!" Tsukishima groaned. "All of you too. And if I see one drop of chocolate on my carpet, or one crumble of chips in my bed, I'll kick all of you out!"
"Hai." A unison of answer, followed by a silent snort from one of the girl. Suzuki knew he would be bothered by this whole idea, so it was a surprise when he actually nodded. She glanced at the standing boy by the bedside, looking noticeably less pleased than before, and she chuckled lightly; yeah that outburst was expected of him.
Tsukishima sighed and fixed his glasses and was about to clean some books on the floor when he felt a sudden pinch on his leg. He flinched and looked down to find Suzuki's foot was the culprit. "Want some?" She nudged him with her foot again, now giving him the bag of chips she snatched from Mirai. He stared for a bit before taking it and placed it on the table, he turned to see she already crossed one leg over another to provide some space, her eyes caught to him and nodded. He shrugged and sat down in the spot Suzuki just cleared out for him, he supposed.
"Who's winning?" Tsukishima asked.
"Oklahoma with 49 points. But Miami is getting close. And it's only the fourth game." Suzuki said. "They are really head to head. Oklahoma must win this game to even up the match."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the NBA Final is based on the best of seven and they need 4 wins to win. Right now it is the 4th game and Miami has taken the lead 2 to 1." She told him. "Do you wanna watch too?"
He hesitated of the position, wondering how to actually squeeze in to watch the little screen. "Aoki move your ass a little, would you?" He heard Suzuki called out, scooting away to give him more space. If he could be honest, the thought of laying down and stretching his body was inviting. And next to her…
"No it's fine." Instead he kept his seated position.
Though, he couldn't help but bite the inside of his cheek, blushing at the thought. She didn't seem to mind sharing the tight space, already glued her eyes back to the phone.
Tsukishima decided to try, grabbing an extra pillow and laying back but with a manga on his hand instead of watching the match.
And when she felt the bed dipped next to her, she bit the inside of her cheek too, suppressing a smile.
- Chapter 9 -
Suzuki found herself laying on the bed once again with her phone. This time it was Yachi's bed, and this time Mirai and Aoki were not by her side, they were casually reading on the floor. The side next to her was claimed by the other duo and to her surprise, Hinata and Kageyama had fallen asleep while they were taking a quick break. Perhaps it was understandable. Amongst her friends, these two seemed to work the hardest, they really wanted that opportunity for the Tokyo practice match. She examined their recent essay, and she smiled at the milestone they had achieved, both already passed the score of 70; even after she purposely gave them advanced questions she learned in additional curriculum for her college-prep class.
"Are they still breathing?" Tsukishima blurted. They answered with simultaneous snores, slightly stunning the girl too. He shook his head. "They sound like a boar."
"Takes one to know. Kidding. I'm Kidding. Stop!" Suzuki chuckled, dodging and catching a pillow flown towards her. "Shhh! You'll wake them up."
"I intend to." He said, already grabbing another pillow. "It's getting late, we have to go back."
"Hwuaah! I agree." Yawning, Aoki quipped from the table by the other side of the room. "We spent almost the entire day today. We're bothering Yachi-chan too much. She must have been so tired too."
The blonde-haired girl widened her eyes and quickly shook her head. "Nonono, I am not tired. In fact, it's the other way around. I-I am only bothering all of you for going so far to my home. I am truly sorry!"
"No! Don't bow your head to the floor! Up, Yachi, upupup!" Mirai said, pulling the smaller girl straighter. "What you said didn't make sense at all. We all have agreed to come here. Relax, girl."
"H-hai."
"But yeah, we're all going home after this. Suzuki, wake them up and then let's clean the room everyone! Chop chop!" Mirai clapped her hand and began the cleaning conduct.
Yachi's house was indeed far, taking them over one hour by bus ride to the city from the school. And all of them were indeed exhausted. Within minutes of sitting down, Hinata and Kageyama practically slumped on the chair again and dozed off, getting irritated looks from the passenger next to them. Suzuki and Aoki sat down on one bench while Yamaguchi sat on the other across from her. And standing in the middle of the aisle was Tsukishima, already covered with headphones.
Tsukishima felt someone pulling his bag. He looked down at Yamaguchi, who was already nodding his head across the seat. Pulling down his headphones, he turned to her. It wasn't long until the passenger next to her had stood up to get off his stop. Suzuki glanced around to see if there would be anyone else occupying the chair, and so she called him. "Tsukishima, hey. Sit here." With the ride still about half an hour to go, he reluctantly walked up to her and sat down.
The ride was fairly quiet, with a light snore coming from the quick-freak duo, and a random but soothing instrumental tune playing in the background. Suzuki seemed to have zoned out on an interior poster, advertising about face and body cream for the upcoming summer holiday. And then she felt something heavy leaning against her head, immobilizing her. She could only glanced at Yamaguchi, who was already taking out his phone at them, grinning like an idiot.
Tsukishima, between the songs, had drowsed off, and leaned his head against hers. Either he was so tired or his song was too loud (Suzuki could actually feel the bass all the way. Was he listening to some jazz?) that this drift off didn't wake him at all. In fact, she could feel he slumped to her even more. He slumbered deeper, his headphones and glasses started to fall out of place. Sleeping with those big headphones on looked uncomfortable, so she took it off for him. To her surprise, this only made his head lean to her even more. She widened her eyes at the green-haired boy across, practically saying: what to do? - and groaned when Yamaguchi just ignored her and went back to his phone. Unsure of this new position, she let out a sigh and made a split-second decision to have his head rested on her shoulder instead.
She heard the heavy breath coming from the blonde, she took this moment to admire the sleeping boy on her shoulder. Gone all the cold and hard stares, replaced with slow breath and peaceful mumble. And he felt comfortably warm against her. She exhaled. Something about this position and this instance soothed her, in a way that it made her relaxed slowly, removing all the doubt and insecurities while being around him.
And he looked cute too, which was why she was having second thoughts on how to wake him up without disturbing him, as their school was near.
"Oi, Sleepyshima! Wake the hell up!" That was Hinata's idea of shaking him out of slumber.
Tsukishima quickly jolted awake, and he felt a pang of dizziness from the sudden movement. He rubbed his eyes and slowly scanned the surroundings.
"Oh you're awake, Princess. Have a good nap I see?" Suzuki chuckled at him. "You were drooling."
"I did not drool." He groaned, rubbing his hand on his face, inwardly checking for any wet stain. "Piss off."
"I guess not but you were not moving for almost the whole ride. I couldn't dare to disturb your beauty sleep." Suzuki said, stretching her arm and shoulder.
Tsukishima stared at her. "Did I sleep on you?"
Suzuki looked up to him for a while, and popped a bubble gum, smiling. "Yep."
The time was around seven when the group had gotten off the bus, back to school. And it was time for a farewell walk, for some. "Kageyama, are you still up for a toss and spike? There's a volleyball on my bike. We can do it in the parking lot."
The setter nodded firmly. "Sure."
Aoki groaned loudly. "Ohmigod these two!" She rolled her eyes at them. "You boys literally were knocked out cold a moment ago. Where is this energy coming from?"
"Bunch of idiots." Tsukishima snorted. "No way we can stop them. Let's just leave."
Yamaguchi shook his head. "Hey Hinata, Kageyama, we're heading out. Don't stay practicing too late. In two days we have the first exam. Math and Social Studies. Don't forget about that."
"Hai!"
"Yamaguchi, I have a feeling they both would lose the time." Suzuki suddenly said once the rest of them made a walk down the street. "Is there anything you can do to stop them?"
Yamaguchi sighed. "I will call them by eight or so, and if they are not home by then, I can just tell the Captains about it. Daichi-san and Suga-san would know what to do."
Aoki let out a giggle. "That's a good back up, I suppose." She then glanced at the store nearby. "Should Ukai-san know about it too?"
"That's actually not a bad idea. If anything, he would definitely be able to stop them right on track. Wait here for a bit." Yamaguchi suddenly made a dash across the street, quickly followed by Aoki who said she wanted to buy some snacks.
Suzuki briefly turned to Tsukishima, who looked like he wanted to be home soon. "Are you not coming?"
"No. I'll wait here."
"Okay." Suzuki paused. "Is there anything I can get you while I'm there?"
"No." He told her. "No, thanks."
"Alright." Suzuki turned around to catch up with Yamaguchi and Aoki.
Ukai was surprised to see them this late Saturday afternoon from school, knowing very well that they did not have any practice today. Yamaguchi then made a lengthy explanation of studying at Yachi's place, and adding to the fact that Kageyama and Hinata were having practice in the parking lot. As predicted, Ukai clicked his tongue, annoyed by the news, and said to stop those two as he deemed them too stubborn and selfish. The pinch server let out a sigh of relief, knowing that those two would be in good hands.
Casually, Yamaguchi waltzed to between the isles of displays. "Suzuki-chan, what are you buying?"
Suzuki turned to him, rather frowning. "Um, a bottle of black pepper sauce. And oyster sauce. I don't think this store has it though. Ukai-san, do you have oyster sauce?"
"Already ran out. Haven't restocked yet!" She heard Ukai yell out.
"Oh, hai! - I guess just black pepper sauce then."
"I see." He nodded. "Anyway, that was a fun bus ride, wasn't it?"
"What are you talking about, Yamaguchi?"
"Well, I'm just saying, it's a quiet and comfortable bus ride, yeah?"
Ignoring his goofy looks, she left him to the next rack of food.
"You know, You and Tsukki seem close."
Ah, there it was, the punchline. "We classmates, duh."
"No, I mean not like that. I'm serious. Tsukki has gotten pretty comfortable around you." He snickered when he caught her flushing underneath the reluctant cover. "He is never the type to fall asleep in a car or a bus or any vehicle for that matter. And never more to sleep on a shoulder."
"Maybe he's just so tired."
"But he looked comfortable by your side. He even snored a little." He smiled. "And you let him to."
"As I said, he's just tired. We all are."
"True. That's why it's so cute to see you two leaned on each other. See? Cute." Yamaguchi shoved his phone on her; a picture of Tsukishima and her.
"Yamaguchi! Delete that!" She whispered quickly. "That's embarrassing. Delete that."
"Nah, I don't think I will."
She frowned. "If Tsukishima found it, you're a dead meat Yamaguchi."
"I know that already." Yamaguchi had already bolted to catch Aoki at the cashier, leaving Suzuki shaking her head, bewildered and blushing.
...
After Yamaguchi bid goodbye and made his turn, Suzuki and Tsukishima walked side by side. And when his own turn came up, he walked across with her instead.
At the beginning of their friendship she often mocked him, the usual: "if you wanna walk me home, you could've just asked." But after a while, she ignored her own comment and let him. And Tsukishima had gotten used to it by now, it became rather automatic. It corrupted about fifteen minutes of his time detouring, which he didn't mind at all. He didn't even think of it anymore. Looking back, what started it? Oh when she injured her shoulder and certainly had a hard time carrying her bag. And then what was next? Her attempt of returning the gum he gave her went unforgotten. And then so on, until she didn't say anything more when he just walked forward instead of turning right without any hesitation or second-thought whatsoever.
Him walking her home had slowly become an unspoken arrangement between the two. And neither do they need any cancellations.
"Be honest with me, do you think Hinata and Kageyama would pass the exam?" Suzuki asked out loud.
"No."
"Okay. Cold." She frowned. "Do you have anything uplifting to say about them? At all?"
"Not really."
"But they are your teammates. Kageyama is your setter and Hinata is literally your other half—"
"Take back what you said. That's disgusting." He retorted.
"I only meant that he is also the other middle blocker. You guys are a team. Don't you want them to go to Tokyo too?"
"Honestly, no."
"Oh come on."
"But it doesn't matter what I want. Whatever happens with them and the exams is their own thing. That's something that I can't have an opinion about."
"Well, yeah… but I mean, you've been helping them over the weeks."
"I was forced into tutoring them."
"You said yes, eventually."
"Yamaguchi said yes."
"And you went along anyway." Suzuki laughed, watching the boy lost in words. "Don't try to deny it. I know you tried so much to help them. Do you want them to pass the test? You do, right?"
Tsukishima paused, eyes lingered above the sunset sky. "They are the wild cards. With them, everything is unpredictable." He lowered her gaze. "But, yeah, maybe it would be nice to see those idiots do something else good for once."
"I will ignore the fact that you still call them idiots," She shook her head. "But I agree with the rest of your statement. It would be a surprise if they could pass this… I think they would… ace this."
"Pfft, ace?" Tsukishima laughed, genuinely. "That's so corny. It doesn't suit you."
"But I think they would. I don't expect a high score right away but at the very least, passing the minimum." Suzuki smiled. "Hm, the things people do for love."
"Huh?"
"All of this effort only for a chance for two days of training camp thingy. It's like their lives depend on it." She shrugged.
"I wouldn't call it much of an effort."
"Of course you would say that instead." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I did have you admit you were secretly cheering for those idiots."
"I am not cheering whatsoever."
"You could be their biggest fan for all I know."
"I am not their fan! Shut up."
"Secret admirer, then?"
"Ew no, fuck that."
She made a snorty laugh, a loud one. "Damn, what did those two kids do to you, Tsukishima? Why do you hate them so much? Come on, they are not that bad."
"You should try to listen to their nonstop volleyball cries every practice. Then you know what you're actually dealing with."
"Whatever you say, Kechishima, Sleepyshima—ow! Stop that."
Tsukishima dodged an incoming punch after he had pushed her off her walk and made her stumble slightly. Snickering, they both stopped to wait for the crossing light to turn.
Sleepyshima…
"Hey Suzuki."
"What?"
"Sorry about what happened on the bus."
"What do you mean?"
"For sleeping on your shoulder." He looked away briefly. "That was uh, ill-timed."
"Oh." She blinked. "Oh, n-nono. That's fine. It's nothing you need to apologize for. We're all tired anyway. It's fine, really."
"Uh, hai." He nodded stiffly. "But didn't I make any discomfort? You said you couldn't move."
"That was a joke. I was fine. I could move." She reassured him. "But you do have a heavy, big head."
"Hmph."
"That was also a joke. Come on, relax a little." She shook her head, smiling. "I told you it's no big deal. You are tired. Well, we spent all of the time teaching about science so you must be exhausted looking at those questions and explanations the most. So it's fine."
"Yeah, I know. I was only joking too."
"You're so bad at jokes, you know that."
"Whatever."
Tsukishima bid goodbye and made a turn once she had disappeared behind the gate, and then went home. Only when he reached his own room and flopped down on a bed, did he feel tired. Perhaps she was right, he was tired and sore. The fact that he fell asleep in the bus actually surprised himself more. No, he didn't just fall asleep, he actually dozed off - and only to awake to a sharp angle pillow of a shoulder. Suzuki's shoulder.
A part of him was embarrassed with the bad manners. He knew he would be bothered so much; if there was someone dozing off against him, he would simply push them off to another direction. He did that often to Yamaguchi whenever he fell on his shoulder during any bus ride. But maybe if that was Suzuki, perhaps he could let her.
Laying on his back, his mind brought back the memory of Suzuki in the similar manner, arms spread out, legs dangling on the side in his own bed. He was mimicking her, recalling the moment he sat down and their legs touched. It wasn't much of a contact, only a brush of pants to pants. And then he remembered Yamaguchi was staring gleefully from the floor and he glared at him.
Speaking of, that idiot Yamaguchi had been texting him during the walk. His phone was buzzing relentlessly until he set it to silent. So now he grabbed it and clicked open the message - which he instantly closed as if he didn't want to see it. But sure enough he wanted to take a closer look.
Hey Tsukki, wasn't this the perfect moment to put an arm around her? - Yamaguchi's text annoyed him, as always. But he was already too tired, already fell asleep with his phone in his hand, zoomed in to the picture that clearly showed him heavily resting his head against her shoulder, and her leaning on to his head. Both slept peacefully during the ride.
- Chapter 9 -
No matter how hard they played, they were never going to match the standard of these Tokyo teams. Tsukishima blatantly admitted first.
Karasuno was falling very behind other teams, with too many diving lap punishment with whatever dignity they had left. The whole two days of matches against Fukurodani, Nekoma, Ubugawa and Shinzen High was, if not useless, very despicable that Tsukishima started to show a great level of repulsiveness. And that black and white haired ace's spike that hit his hand hurt like hell. Even during the bus ride home, he could definitely see red marks on the skin, he still felt the burn.
I'm on the way back to Karasuno by the way - at least his fingers were fine, moving smoothly to type words on the phone.
Oh it's over already? - Suzuki's reply was quick. That meant she was free. How was the last day? Any new wins?
Of course not. Everyone just beat the hell out of us. That was embarrassing. He decided to reply.
The bubble chat went on; I thought you don't care about losing.
Not when I have punishments, I don't.
Punishment? She replied. Is it worse than Ukai's?
10x worse! He added an exclamation. I'll tell you about it.
Get some rest, Tsukishima. You still have hours left on the road. Sleep tight, Princess!
Shut up. Chuckling to himself, put his phone away and leaned back. He glanced to his side; Yamaguchi had already slept, with a towel over his head and his mouth slightly opened. In fact when he looked around, he was the only one who hadn't fallen asleep yet, excluding Takeda-sensei who rolled in as a driver. Feeling a little heavy on the eyes, he purposely took off his glasses and replaced them with an eye mask to get ready for his nap – beauty sleep, he suddenly remembered her comment, the corner of his lips twitched into a smile again.