"Do you understand?'
The guardian of Karasuno (aka Nishinoya) looked down
to the bowing Tanaka and Yamamoto
"Tanaka-"
"YES SIR!"
"Tiger head?"
"Y-YES-"
"No dude, will be allowed to hit on Leila or Kiyoko, do I make myself clear?!"
The second year sternly proclaimed
"OR THERE WILL BE HELL!"
"Your wish is our command!"
...
"And why is Nishinoya the master?" Tadashi looked over to the ridiculous trio
munching down on his food
"Because apparently, he is the chosen one-" Tsukishima rolled his eyes
making bunny quotes to emphasize 'chosen one'
"The only person to be slapped in the face by Kiyoko-" The blonde smirked
slyly making Yamaguchi laugh
"Hey Tsukishima!"
"Have some m-mwore f-food!" Daichi presented a plate to the blonde
"No thanks, I'm full thank you-"
"Here yams, you can have one of my rice balls-" Leila smiled putting one of
hers on his plate
"Eat vegetables too-" Kuroo walked over behind the cousins
"KENMA I SEE YOU!" He shouted startling the setter
"Meat! You gotta eat meat Suki dude!" Bokuto appeared out of nowhere
"H-Hey! That's mine!" Leila raged noticing her empty plate, meat swiped from
it
Stomping on Bokuto's foot, he dramatically winced in pain.
"Heh. That's what you get-" Kuroo sneered
"Man, they bicker like old relatives or something-" Kiyoko and the managers
sat around
"It's kinda hilarious don't ya think?"
"Hey, those third years from Karasuno, look like they have their act together-"
"Our ace is really a big ol'
softie-" Kiyoko leaned over smiling in her seat
surprising the other managers
"A-Are you serious?" Sara gasped
"But he looks so big any scary-"
"I think it's better then having such a simple minded ace-" Kaori chuckled
watching Bokuto converse with Hinata before her eyes landed on another
specific ace
The raven haired ace sat pouting, pushing the leftovers of rice back and forth
with her chopsticks holding her plate
The cerulean eyed girl rolled her eyes, crossing her arms in disbelief.
"Misa-"
"Go do it-" Kaori pushed the girl
"Jeez fine-" She clicked her tongue in annoyance before getting up, marching
over to the blonde headed libero
"H-Hey Lei?"
"Yeah, what is it Dai?" the girl turned to see her cousins concerned expression
as her eyes shifted to the raven haired Fukurodani ace walking over to their
group
Once standing in front of the blonde, Misa bit her lip, no words coming out.
"..."
"Uh..? Do you need something?" Leila eyed the ace head to toe as a crowd
soon began to form
"Hey look-" She gripped the side of her arm
"I'm-" She struggled
"I'm sorry about what I said yesterday-" Misa's eyes narrowed
Leila watched, eyes widening taken back by surprise
"It wasn't... cool okay?"
...
"Misa-Misa... apologizing to me?"
"Holy crap, someone get a camera-"
"T-This is solid gold I tell you!" She laughed holding onto her stomach
"ARE YOU LAUGHING AT ME?!"
"Who wouldn't be?!"
"SCREW YOU ABARAI-"
"Leila come on-" Kaori walked over
"She's trying-" She spoke with hopeful eyes that the libero would catch on
"..."
"Hey Saito-" Leila shouted making the ace stop in her traces
"..."
"Thanks-"
"What exactly did she say to you?" Akaashi walked up next to the blonde in
question
All going to the same school, the setter has never seen the female ace of
Fukurodani apologize to someone, let alone anyone before.
"O-Oh! I-It w-was n-nothing!"
"Nothing?" Ya sure 'bout that?" Bokuto butted in
"Misa Misa's a feisty one, so it takes a lot for her to do something like that-"
He put his elbow leaning on the top of her head comically
"Trust me I should know-"
"Oh? Should you?" Akaashi crossed his arms teasing
"Watch it Akaashi..." Bokuto growled with an angry tick
"Well, anyways-" Leila walked forward a bit causing Bokuto to stumble losing
his balance
"Better go get some more meat before it all disappears-" She grabbed a new
plate
"What do you think-"
"Akaashi?" She turned to the setter, totally isolating the ace
". . ."
"Sure-" He walked forward to the blonde as Bokuto's body began to erode
away
Later on
"That was so nice of the coaches to throw us a barbecue-" The blonde
thought out loud as she brushed out her tangled hair getting ready for bed.
There was a small box tv in the corner sitting on a stand hooked into the
outlet, Leila's small futon on the floor with her gym bag and luggage open
having her stuff sprawled all around the room.
Tomorrow was their last day in Tokyo, time to pack everything up.
A task the blonde was deeply dreading but alas, it had to be done-
knock knock knock
"Hey... Leila?"
"T-Tetsu!" Her eyes brightened
"Hey sorry, come in!" She apologized comically trying to move her 'mess'
out
of the way
"It's all good-" He smiled closing the door behind him as he walked over sitting
next to the girl
He wore a dark blue shirt with a pair of sweatpants... and her, an oversized
turquoise Aoba Johsai team hoodie... which may or may not be Tooru's paired
with some short shorts.
"You guys crushed it out there today, your team is pretty solid, you know
that?" Leila turned eyeing the boy
"Yeah..." Kuroo sighed
"And who came out on top? Fukurodani that's who-" The middle blocker rolled
his eyes making the girl laugh
'Heh. At least we're on the same page with that-'
"Tokyo... I missed it-" The blonde third year looked up to the ceiling
"You should come back... and visit once and a while-" He leaned in brushing
his knee against hers
"I have to admit, being in the city is more my style-"
Noticing the subtle shift in his posture, his broad shoulders angled towards
her. His face was close... closer than she'd realized—and she felt her
heartbeat quicken as his eyes, dark and intense, met hers directly.
Leila's breath caught. Was he…?
Her mind raced, struggling to make sense of the moment. But then he leaned
in even closer, his face now just inches from hers.
Their eyes locked, his gaze unflinching, his focus entirely on her. She could
see the slightest detail of his expression. Her pulse hammered as his nose
brushed hers, and for a split second, the world around them seemed to fall
away.
"I, uh…" Leila stammered, feeling her cheeks heat up as she quickly turned
her head
Her hands clenched nervously at the hem of her hoodie, her mind blank
except for the panicked realization of what was happening.
"T-Tetsu…"
"I… can't. I have a boyfriend." Her voice came out small and uncertain
"Oh." Kuroo blinked, his expression faltering as he pulled back, cheeks tinted
with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry-"
"No, don't apologize. It's my fault," he said, running a hand through his hair
with a sigh
"No, I should have said something sooner," she replied, shaking her head
"Shut up," he teased, rolling his eyes, signaling that everything was okay. She
looked up at him, managing a tight-lipped smile.
After a moment, he glanced back at her with a curious, almost challenging
look
"So… who's the guy lucky enough to have captured your heart?"
Leila's cheeks warmed, nerves fluttering as she hesitated. Did she really have
to tell her childhood best friend—who had just tried to make a move on
her—about her boyfriend?
"Well…" she started with a smirk, her gaze fixed stubbornly on the TV
"You're the one who called him pretty-"
Kuroo blinked, the realization hitting him in waves. His expression darkened,
his lips tightening into a gritty smile.
He let out a disbelieving laugh, leaning back against the wall, folding his arms
as the girl looked over at him confused by his reaction.
"I never thought you'd go for a guy like that, Leila-"
"Like what?" Leila frowned
"Come on, he's obviously a player," he scoffed, shaking his head
"From what I see on tv, that guy is always surrounded by chicks, and you're
telling me he has a girlfriend... let alone it's you?" He stood up now hovering
over the blonde as her hair shadowed her eyes
Leila felt her stomach twist, anger simmering beneath her skin.
"E-excuse me?" She turned to him, her olive-green eyes flashing as she
narrowed them at Kuroo. "You don't even know him, Tetsu."
"Like I have to know him," Kuroo replied, shrugging with a half-smile that only
made her angrier.
"I'm just calling it like I see it. The guy's always surrounded by girls, looking
like he's some prince-" He unfolded his arms, now standing over her, his face
hardening.
"If you were my girlfriend, I'd treat you like a prized possession. Not some
convenience I can keep on the side for good measure."
Her hands balled into fists, and she felt heat rise in her chest.
"And you think he doesn't?" The girl snapped, olive green eyes matching his
dark brown ones
"You don't know anything about our relationship, Kuroo," she spat, putting
venom into his last name
He flinched, taken aback by her intensity.
"We've been together since first year-" she continued, her voice rising as she
tried to keep her emotions in check.
"You... you idiot!" The blonde shouted standing up from her position
seemingly pushing the boy out of her room
Without thinking, she shoved him toward the door, her anger boiling over.
"Leila—hey, I'm—"
SLAM!
Silence fell over the room, thick and almost suffocating, broken only by the low
hum of the TV in the background.
Tears welled in Leila's eyes, unbidden and unstoppable, and she pressed her
fists to her chest, trembling as she glared at the closed door.
'How could he… how could he say something like that?' Her breaths came
shallow and fast as she struggled to keep herself steady, the anger giving way
to a hollow ache.
Maybe Tooru was right.
Coming here… was a mistake.