Part 2: Chapter 15
"Hey, what was that?"
"So fast!"
"I've never seen a quick attack like that."
You grinned to yourself when you heard those comments about the freak duo. The surprise and frustrated looks whenever people see Hinata and Kageyama play volleyball for the first time never fails to amuse you everytime.
"(name)-chan, watch out!"
You shift your attention to the ball that was heading your way quickly and less than a split second, you received the ball and directed it towards where Kageyama was standing. The whistle blew as Hinata spiked the ball tossed by Kageyama after receiving the ball from you, ending the game.
"Good job guys!" You cheered as you gave both Hinata and Kageyama a high five.
"Holy shit, did you see that (h/c)-haired who received the ball at lightning speed?!"
"Yea! She even managed to return the ball towards where the setter is despite being at the back of the court."
"Who exactly is she?"
"Great job on receiving that impossible ball, as expected of Russia's ex female Youth World libero." Your brother smirk at you as he passed you a towel to wipe off your sweat, answering all the comments about you indirectly.
"Oh shut it, nii-chan. You're making me blush." You grinned as you accepted the towel, wiping your face.
"What?! She's a Youth World libero from Russia?!"
"No wonder that explains everything."
"I wonder if she knows Lev from Nekoma?"
Your ears perked up when someone mentioned "Lev" and "Nekoma". You turned your head towards where Nekoma was having their ongoing match, your (e/c) eyes trying to locate for someone who might looked like a "Lev" to you. However, you gave up after a while, not able to place a face to that name.
But you swore that you heard that name from somewhere before.
"Huh? Inuoka's on the sideline?"
You approached Hinata who had a surprise look on his face when he noticed his Nekoma friend standing on the sideline instead on court. You too gave a confused look, not understanding why Inuoka was standing on the sideline despite being on court going against Karasuno during the Golden week. After all, it is not everyday that a player can stop Hinata's crazy spike within a short amount of time.
"Go, Lev!" Inouka shouted as he cheered one of his teammates on.
Your brows furrowed in frustration when you heard that name again, still trying to remember where have you heard that name from. You shift your attention to the ongoing match, hoping you might be able to finally figure out who this "Lev" is.
Well, it looked like you don't have to figure out that long after all. Your (e/c) eyes widen at the sight of a tall grey-haired male, his vest spotting the number 11 as he swing his arm like a whip. The whistle blew as Nekoma won the match against Ubugawa High. You stood there as a memory from your time in Russia surfaced.
You sat on the swing as you watched the kids play on the playground, their laughter filling the air. It had already been a month since you moved to Russia and started school, yet you still were lonely as none of the kids wanted to play with you. According to them, you were an alien just because you were Japanese and not Russian.
Your hair covered your face as a tear dropped onto your legs. You quickly wiped it away, not wanting others to see you cry. You missed all your friends who were back in Japan, at least there you will be happy.
"Hello! You must be the new girl!" ( the words in bold means that they are speaking in Japanese.)
Your head lifted when you heard a voice speaking in Japanese coming from in front of you. A tall boy with grey-haired was beaming at you, his slanted green eyes reminding you of a cat.
"You can speak Japanese?" You asked softly, your face in awe.
The boy nodded his head enthusiastically, replying you. "Yeap, I'm half Japanese and half Russian. By the way, my name is Lev Haiba!"
"Hello, my name is Ukai (name). I'm full Japanese." You introduced yourself, a small on your face.
"I know, you're the new girl! Wanna come and play with me?" Lev asked, excitement shining in his eyes.
"Sure!" You answered, your voice mirroring Lev's excitement.
And that was how Lev became your first friend in Russia, until he moved away to Japan half way through middle school. Ever since then, you have not seen nor heard from him.
"Lev!" You shouted the first year's name as all heads turned towards you.
Lev's eyes widen in confusion at the sight of you running towards him, your arms waving as your (e/c) eyes reflected your excitement. For some reason, you looked rather familiar to him. He just can't remember from where.
"Do I know you?" Lev asked.
You rolled your eyes at Lev as you replied him. "I can't believe you forgot about me that easily. I'm (name), the lonely ass girl on the swing back in Russia?"
Lev's eyes widen in recognition as he swept you off the floor and brought you into a hug, your feet dangling as your face was smashed into his chest. "(name)! I missed you! How have you been?"
You patted Lev's arm awkwardly as your muffled voice answered back. "I'm good Lev. Now, can you please let go off me? I can't breathe."
Lev put you down and ruffled your hair, beaming. "It's nice to see you again, l'venok (1)."
You smacked Lev's hand away as you try to smooth down your hair, your voice playful. "You're gonna mess up my hair Lev."
"Kitten, you met Lev before?" Kuroo asked, surprise could be heard in his voice.
You and Lev looked at one another with sly smirks on both your faces, a silent message being passed between you two. The rest of the volleyball players looked at the two first years with wary looks, not trusting what they were about to do. Both you and Lev were used to people directing wary looks at you two considering this happened quite often back in Russia. After all, you two were able to communicate with one another without having to say anything and it can be quite useful at times. However, it always lead to trouble on one too many occasions.
Lev wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you flush against to his side as you placed an arm on his chest. With a shy smile on your face, you softly said. "Lev and I met during my study abroad in Russia...."
Tsukishima's eyes widen as you trailed off, a huge blush on your face from being embarrassed at the amount of eyes staring at you. His gaze was fixed onto you as you turned your body and buried your face into Nekoma spiker's chest. Tsukishima's heart was screaming at him to do something, anything but all he could do was stand there in shock upon hearing Lev's words.
"(name) and I are dating ever since then." Lev finished your sentence as he leaned down to kiss your forehead, a fond smile on his face.
...
Nothing could be heard as all volleyball players were stunned into silence at Lev's words. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin dropped. You raised your head as you took in everyone's blank looks, counting down to 3 in your head.
'1...2...3'
"WHAT?!"
"LEV HAS A GIRLFRIEND?!"
"SINCE WHEN ON EARTH WERE YOU IN A RELATIONSHIP AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!"
You covered your mouth at your brother's outburst, your laughter being muffled. Takeda grabbing onto the back of Keishin's shirt, his heels digging into the floor as he tried to hold back your brother from murdering the tall Nekoma player. There was chaos everywhere as you and Lev tried to hold in your laughter, or else everyone will discover that you two were just being up to your mischievous selves as usual.
You shift your (e/c) eyes unto a certain blond megane, wondering what his reaction will be like. You grinned as you thought about the surprise look that awaits you. You bet that Tsukishima will be so shocked that he will be speechless. However, your grin faltered when you saw the look on the middle blocker's face.
Despite his face displaying surprise, you noticed that his golden eyes speak more volumes due to the number of emotions flashing through them. You could see that instead of the usual sardonic look, his eyes was displaying emotions like hurt, shock, betrayed. However, what caught you off guard was the look of what looked like heart brokenness. You weren't too sure.
Everything else became white noise when you and Tsukishima caught each others' eyes. When Tsukishima noticed that you were staring at him with a frown, his eyes became devoid of emotions and you could tell that those walls he had build over the years were coming up again. Your frown only deepened when Tsukishima turned his face to the floor, his face hidden from you.
You could tell that Tsukishima was upset, probably at you considering how tense his jaws looked while his hands were clenched into fists. You walked away from Lev who had released you by then as your friends and his teammates bombarded him with questions. You approached Tsukishima cautiously, less you set him off and that's the last thing you need.
"Oi, string bean! Are you okay?" You asked carefully.
Tsukishima remained silence for a while before answering you, his tone monotonous. "I'm fine."
With that, he headed towards where his stuffs were and left the gym to wash up. The entire time, Tsukishima's back was facing you which left you confused and disappointed for some reason.
Your (e/c) eyes widen when you felt a sudden ache coming from your chest. You looked down at your chest where your heart was located, your hand rubbing it when you felt the sudden ache just now. You lifted your head again as your eyes focused on where Tsukishima was standing earlier on.
For some unexplained reasons, you felt like crying when Tsukishima left you and that scared you.
These unknown new feelings towards string bean only left you confused and scared as you tried to figure out what they meant. But one thing for sure is that, you are starting to regret ever pulling that trick with Lev.
***
It was the second day of the Tokyo away games and things had only gotten tense between you and Tsukishima. The first match of the day was going to start and Karasuno was facing against Nekoma. You stood next to Yachi as Keishin gave a speech to the boys, feeling nervous as to whether you should speak to Tsukishima or not in order to clear up yesterday's misunderstanding.
After Tsukishima left the gym yesterday, both you and Lev told everyone the truth - that the both of you weren't dating and were just good friends with one another. Despite receiving a lot of scolding and shouting from both your teammates, you could tell that they didn't mean it. Now, the only person left to clear things with is Tsukishima.
That is only if the first year would stopped avoiding you.
However, you didn't had the chance to talk with string bean when the whistle blew, indicating that the match had started. You gave a sigh as you focused on the match before you. Your eyes focused on Tsukishima who was serving when suddenly the ball hit the net, earning Nekoma a home run point.
You winced at the dark look on Tsukishima's face as Daichi shouted a "Don't mind". As the game progress on, you could tell that yesterday event had affected Tsukishima badly. He wasn't as focused as usual, constantly failing to block the opponents. The same could be say for his receives as well. Tsukishima already suck at receive when he is functioning normally, you can imagine how bad it is now that Tsukishima is not his usual self.
If only you had chose to be mischievous at another time, Tsukishima wouldn't have been these unfocused and tensed.
Realizing that there was nothing you could do about the situation, you decided to focus on the match happening before you. Hinata's shoes squeaked loudly as he jumped up, spiking the ball that Kageyama confidently tossed to him. You grinned, ready to cheer for Karasuno who earned another point thanks to the freak duo's usual play.
However, when Lev who was able to read through the duo clearly, jumped right before Hinata and blocked his usual quick with his large hands caused your grin to falter. Nishinoya dived to the floors, stretching out his hand to save the ball, but failing to do so.
"Alright!" The city boys cheered, excited fists reaching for the sky as their team earned another point.
You watched with awe and disbelief at the fact that Lev managed to stop Hinata's insane spike, on the first try which made it even more amazing. You glanced towards Hinata with worry, wondering if he'll be alright. Only to be surprised when you noticed that the orange-haired male was smiling with motivation and determination relfecting in his brown eyes. Instead of feeling relief, you somehow felt concerned for Hinata.
You chose to suppress the pulsating concern and focus your attention back to the match. As the game progresses, you could feel the concern turning into a bad feeling at the fact that something might go wrong. Your gut feeling was right as your (e/c) eyes widen in shock and a gasp escaped from your lips when Asahi wasn't the only one jumping up for the spike.
Hinata had jumped right behind him, his arms stretched back into a similar pose, completely unaware of what he was doing. Both you and the ace of Karasuno's faces turned grimed at Hinata's expression, fearing for the worst.
They were unable to turn away from each other as they collided in mid-air and fell back to the ground, Asahi landing on his feet while Hinata dropped onto his back.
"Uwah! A-are you okay?!" The gentle giant exclaimed, his face turning blue.
Hinata got onto his knees and bowed his head down aggressively, apologizing profusely to the third year. "I'm sorry! I was just staring at the ball...I'm sorry! Are you okay? I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"I'm perfectly fine..." Asahi tried to calm down the panicking middle blocker.
"Pay close attention to the things around you, dumbass!! Why do you think you call stuff out all the time, dammit!" Your brother scolded with veins popping all over his face, causing the ball of sunshine to lower his head in shame and guilt.
As Hinata was continued being scolded by the blueberry setter, you bit your lips in contemplation and concern for the ginger, thinking. 'Hinata...was about to steal away the toss that was sent to the ace....'
Despite the laughing faces and cheerfulness, you could tell the team felt a little threatened by Hinata's subconscious action. As the game progresses on, everyone had calmed down a little but there was still a slight tension in the air. It only became worse when suddenly out of nowhere, Hinata announced to Kageyama that he's gonna start spiking with his eyes opened.
Your brows furrowed in concern as Kageyama dismissed the issue to after the match had ended, leaving Hinata standing there deep in thought. The whistle blew once more and the game continued from where it left off, as though nothing had actually happened. However, it was clear that Hinata's words had impacted on each and every Karasuno players.
***
"Kitten, please let go of me. Your bus is ready to leave." Kuroo chuckled as he tried to pried your arms off from his waist.
"NO! I DON'T WANNA LEAVE YOU KUROO-NII! I JUST GOT HERE ONLY!" You wailed as you continued to have a vice-like grip on the cat captain, refusing to let him go.
"Come on (name)-chan, let go. You'll be able to see Kuroo-san again in 2 weeks time when we come back for the week-long camp." Suga gently reminded you as he pulled on your legs, trying to get you to release Kuroo.
Everyone watched in amusement as Karasuno's vice-captain and Nekoma's captain played tug-of-war with you who was still refusing to let Kuroo go. Your body became tense as you felt waves of anger coming from behind you. Without having to turn around to know who it was, you immediately let go of Kuroo as your face planted into the ground.
You scrambled to your feet and hid behind Suga, hoping that the "wife" could calm the husband down. "Now, now Daichi. Please calm down now that (name)-chan has release Kuroo-san."
Immediately, Daichi's anger dissipated as you emerged from behind Suga and tried to escape from your captain. "Don't think you can escape from me!"
The hair on your neck stood as you rigidly turned to face Daichi. With an innocent look on your face, you said. "I didn't do anything."
This time round when Daichi glared at you, you run straight for the hills, not looking back.
You pressed your face to bus window as you waved goodbye to the Tokyo volleyball players who waved in return until they were out of sight. Once the bus hit the main road, you gave a sigh as you sat back down properly in your seat. You can't wait to return back soon, wishing that the two weeks will just pass in a blink of an eye.
"Can you please stop kicking me in the legs?" A familiar annoyed voice reached your ears.
You body turned to the right side and was surprised to see that Tsukishima sitting next to you. You opened and closed your mouth like a gaping fish, your vocal failing you. Tsukishima rolled his eyes and placed a hand under your chin, closing your mouth. "Stop that. You looked like a fish out of water."
You crossed your arms across your chest, your back slouching against the seat and muttered with a pout on your face. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to sit next to me after what happened yesterday."
"I decided it was foolish at the way how I react. After all, whoever you date doesn't matter to me." Tsukishima sneered at you, before placing his headphones on his head, a sign that the megane doesn't want to be bothered.
You frowned at Tsukishima's words, disappointment filling you for some unknown reasons. You glanced up at Tsukishima's face, only to be met with closed eyes. You gave a sigh as you looked outside the window, the scenery a blur of colors staring back at you. Tsukishima opened his eyes as he stared at the (h/c)-haired female sitting next to him. Despite not being able to see your face, the first year could tell that you were upset.
Tsukishima gave a sigh as he try to think of ways to cheer you up. A few months ago, the tall male would have left you alone instead of trying to comfort you. But the moment he chose to sit next you of all people made it obvious that the blond cared about you even though he doesn't always show it. Tsukishima would be lying to himself if he wasn't unfazed by what Lev and you said yesterday.
Instead, Tsukishima felt something snapped within him when you told everyone that you were dating the Russian lion. He had felt anger, sadness, jealousy and something that felt like heart break which scared Tsukishima a lot. The middle blocker didn't want to read into all these emotions, knowing that if he did, it would just confirmed his worst fear.
"Just so you know, I'm not dating Lev. We were just playing around with everyone. I'm sorry."
Tsukishima's face soften when he heard your words. You let out a squeal when you felt your entire body squashed against Tsukishima's side. You felt your face turning hot at the contact as you try to lift your head to see Tsukishima's face, only for the blond to hold you in place.
"I know, you don't have to tell me that. Suga-san cleared that with me yesterday." Tsukishima replied and you could practically hear the smugness in his voice.
You glared at Tsukishima's chest since you couldn't see him, saying. "Then why didn't you say so earlier?! I really thought that you were mad at me!"
"I was mad at you at first, but after Suga-san revealed the truth to me, I continued to ignore you as revenge."
"Why you! That's so childish of you!"
"It's not childish if I wanna see you suffer."
"You sadist asshole!"
Tsukishima laughed as you hit him on the chest, trying to inflict pain on him. Soon enough, you began laughing as well, Tsukishima's laughter was very contagious.
"Will you two shut up? Some of us are trying to sleep!" Daichi glared at the you two from the opposite seat.
"Sorry, Daichi." You apologized with a sheepish look on your face.
You yawned as the tiredness from all those late night sleep during the away game caught up to you.
"Here. Lean your body against me and sleep." Tsukishima gently guided your body to lay against his side, his left arm reaching round you and resting on your waist.
You snuggled deeper into Tsukishima's side and closed your eyes, a smile on your face. "Thank you, Tsukishima."
Tsukishima smiled softly at the sight of you as he replied. "No problem and call me Kei."
You opened your eyes when you heard Tsukishima's words, surprised that he would want you to call him by his first name. After all, Japanese people only call each other by their first names if they are close with one another or are in a relationship. However when you saw the sincerity in Tsukishima's golden eyes, you knew that he saw you as a close friend of his other than Yamaguchi.
With a smile on your face, you said. "Okay, Kei-kun!"
Tsukishima opened his mouth to tell you that you didn't had to add the suffix to his name when he realized that you had already fallen asleep. The middle blocker's could feel his heart pounding at the serene look on your face. Long lashes kissed your cheeks as your (hair length), (h/c) hair pooled around you like calm waters, a small smile on your face as you slept soundly next to him. You looked like an angel to Tsukishima when the evening sun shine its ray through the bus window and unto you.
A stray piece of hair fell into your face and Tsukishima swept it out of the way, tugging it behind your ear. Thoughts of his interaction filled Tsukishima's mind as he continued staring at you with a fond look in his golden eyes.
"What did you just call me? I have a name ya know."
"I'LL FREAKING RIP YOUR HEAD OFF IF YOU KEEP BEING SO GODDAMM LAZY, YOU SHITTY FOUR-EYED!"
"TSUKISHIMA TEME! THAT REALLY HURT!"
Tsukishima chuckled softly to himself at those times when he'll annoyed you and you try to beat the shit out of him due to anger. However, Tsukishima knew that you didn't meant it. After all, it's not in your nature to hold grudges against people. You are always ready to forgive anyone for their wrongdoings and he respect that about you.
There's also the part of you where nothing can bring your fighting spirit down that he had always secretly admired.
"Stop calling me that string bean. And I'll have you know that despite my height, I can jump quite high."
"I will prove you wrong, you overgrown size megane!"
Despite Tsukishima always hurting you, you never gave up on him and left him. Instead, you continued to stay by his side no matter what. For that, Tsukishima is very thankful when he knows that he isn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around.
"This is not how you talk to my friend!"
Tsukishima also remembered the day where you stood up for him and his teammates during their encounter with the basketball team. Your love for your friends is one of the many reasons why Tsukishima had fallen for you.
Tsukishima's golden eyes widen in surprised when that thought entered his mind. He thought that he would be afraid of falling for you, instead it filled him with a sense of contentment and joy. Tsukishima's attention shift back to you when he felt you turned into a side position.
"String bean, you need to put in more effort into your blocking." You muttered, still fast asleep.
Tsukishima's eyes soften once more as he looked at you, this time round with affection shining in his golden eyes. The day you entered his life like an uncontrolled force was the day Tsukishima's life was turned upside down, never to be the same again. And he wouldn't trade it for anything else in the world.
Tsukishima kissed you on the forehead as he pulled you closer to his side, his head leaning against yours. The first year fell asleep to the sound of your breathing, one thought passing through his mind.
Falling in love with you is the last thing that I expected, Munchkin. I'm still slightly afraid to admit it completely, but I'm glad that you are my first love of all people.
Bonus:
Snap!
"Awww! Don't they look so cute leaning against one another while sleeping, Daichi?"
"Yes, Suga. Now, stop taking pictures. It's not nice."
"But I have to capture the moment! My baby crows have all grown up!" (Sugamama being proud of her baby crows.)
"Haiz."
***
(1): "l'venok" means "lion cub" in Russian, according to google translate.