Part 1: Chapter 7
Your (e/c) eyes widen in excitement as you took in the sight before you. It was the day of Karasuno's annual sports festival and you have never seen the school that colorful before. Flags could be seen hanging throughout the school in rainbow colors, making the place festive and bright. Students could be seen standing along the corridor and outside their classes sporting on their class color headbands and cheering, their voices consuming the walkway.
You could feel adrenaline coursing through your veins as you made your way to Class 1-4. You threw the door open as you shouted, announcing your arrival to your classmates.
"CLASS 1-4, ARE YOU READY TO KICK SOME ASSESS?!"
A loud cheer rang throughout the classroom as everyone became hyped up at the idea of winning "best class" award. Every year during the sports festival, one class from all three years would win the "best class" award if they managed to win most of the field events. This year, your class is aiming to win that award and be known as the best first year class throughout Karasuno.
Michiko, the class chair as well as one of your best friends passed you your blue headband as she praised you. "Good job on rallying the class and hyping everyone up. I did a good job at picking you to be our head cheerleader."
"Of course! After all, I am the best!" You pointed a thumb towards yourself, a smirk on your face.
Michiko simply laughed as you stood there, a huge grin on your face. "Yes, yes. Now, get ready. The field events are about to start and we need to head down soon."
You saluted Michiko as she walked away before heading over towards a beanpole who was sitting on his desk, his headphones blasting music into his ears. Tsukishima's eyes twitched as he stared at the sight below him. Students were shouting and cheering, making a ruckus as everyone got ready. Tsukishima let out a simple "tch", not understanding why was everyone making a huge deal out of everything. After all, it was just a sports festival.
You pulled off Tsukishima's headphones and placed yourself on his desk, smiling at him. "What's with the irritated look on your face, string bean? It's the day of the sports festival, so cheer up. It would be rude of you if you're the only with a frown on your face."
Tsukishima glared at you for disrupting his peace before forcing a smile on to his face, sarcasm could be heard in his voice as he replied. "Better? Now leave me alone, munchkin."
Ignoring the nickname Tsukishima gave you, you enthusiastically went on. "That's the string bean I know! Now, are you ready to win your class some gold medals?"
"Tch. Unlike you, I'm not that crazy about winning. In fact, I was forced by a certain shortie to sign up for the 500m run." Tsukishima rolled his eyes at you.
"Now that's the spirit I'm looking for! Come come, it's time to head to the field! Don't forget to wear your headband!" You cheered as you tied your headband into a bow before attaching it to your ponytail.
Tsukishima stood up and followed after you as you skipped after your classmates. As Class 1-4 headed towards the school field, you chatted on excitedly about what you think is going to happen as Tsukishima looked on uninterested at what you are saying.
You glanced up at Tsukishima who had a bored look on his face, but you knew otherwise. To others who did not know Tsukishima as well as you, Yamaguchi and his volleyball teammates, they would not able to see the excitement hidden in his golden eyes.
You faced the front once more, a huge smile on your face. If Tsukishima, the most uninterested guy in the world, can get excited about a simple high school sports festival, you were even more pumped up to win as many golds for your class.
***
"The winner of the girls' 500m race is Ukai (name) from Class 1-4!"
The host announced, his voice ringing throughout the school field. Class 1-4 let out a huge cheer, their voices reaching up to the clouds. You let out a huge smirk as you stood with your hands on your hips, not even looking like you are out of breath. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls from the different classes were panting for breath and some even were lying on the floor, looking like they have died.
Your (e/c) eyes landed on a certain pair of golden eyes as Tsukishima smirked at you and gave you a single nod. That was more than enough to tell you that Tsukishima was proud of you for coming in first. All those years of volleyball training has really paid off, the 500m run felt like a walk through the park to you.
You smiled at the teacher as he placed the gold medal around your neck, your heart swelling with pride as you faced the crowd, your class cheering for you. As you held up your gold medal and raised it into the air, the medal glinting in the sunlight, the cheers grew in volume till the point it drowns out other noises.
"Congratulations on winning first place! I'm so proud of you!" Michiko congratulated as you approached your class, pulling you into a hug.
You pulled back from the hug, a huge smile on your face as you thanked your class chair. "Arigatou Michiko-chan! I wasn't alone in this as well. Your cheers and encouragement gave me the confidence to win this race for class 1-4. I'm so proud of everyone!"
You directed the last part of your sentence to your classmates as they let out a huge shout, some even coming up to congratulate you personally. As everyone got ready for the next event, you headed in the direction of Tsukishima who was leaning against the tree, hiding away from the sun rays.
"I won a gold medal for the girls' 500m run. Do you think you can do it?" You smirked at Tsukishima who simply stared blankly at you.
The volleyball player pushed himself off the tree as he walked closer to you and patted you on the head, a gentle smile on his face. "Good job on winning the gold medal."
Your mouth dropped wide open as Tsukishima walked away, heading in the direction of Yamaguchi who glanced at you with a curious look. Your brain had short-wired at the fact that string bean had not only praised you, but smiled at you. He FREAKING smiled at you! Since when on earth did Tsukishima do that, in fact whenever do that beanpole ever smile? The world must be ending!
"Hmm, I approve."
"AHHHH!!"
You let out a scream as you jumped into the air, your heart going a hundred miles per hour. Michiko stared down at you where you landed after Michiko appearing out from no where. She was standing there with a blank look, instead of helping you up. You scrambled to your feet as you plastered your back against the tree where Tsukishima was leaning against just now.
"What the hell was that for?! And what do you mean you approve?"
Michiko simply shrugged and began eating a carrot that came out of no where, saying. "I approve of Tsukishima-kun, he'll take good care of a weirdo like you."
"What do you mean I'm a weirdo, you're the one who is weird. You're basically eating a carrot that appeared from no where."
"..."
"WAIT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU APPROVE OF STRING BEAN?!"
You shouted in indignation, panting for air. At this point your face was flaming while Michiko stood there with her arms crossed, a knowing look on her face.
"I'm saying that Tsukishima is the best person to look after you. I can't always be there to take care of you. One day I will be leaving you and for someone who has a mentality of a child, I can't trust you to be all alone in this harsh harsh world. You'll die! MY POOR BABY!"
Michiko wailed as she embraced you tightly, your face smooched into her breast and cutting off your air supply. You struggled against Michiko's tight hold on you as you pushed against her, your voice muffled as you said.
"Michiko-chan, let me go! I can't breathe!"
"Oops, sorry." Michiko apologized, not feeling sorry.
"You're not sorry at all." You deadpanned which Michiko returned with an innocent smile.
You were about to say something when suddenly the host's voice echoed throughout the field.
"Those taking part in the boys' 500m run, please make your way to the starting line."
Once you heard the announcement, you completely forgot about what Michiko said earlier as your face broke out into a huge grin. You grabbed Michiko's hand and run to the front of your class, dragging Michiko along like a rag doll.
"(nickname)-chan, please slow down. You're gonna pull out my arm."
"But it's string bean turn to run. He needs all the support we can give him, let's go!" You excitedly shout as you made your way to the front.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Your face broke into an evil grin, scaring Michiko who slowly backed away, not wanting to be involved in whatever you are planning to do.
Sometimes Michiko questioned if there was something wrong with your brain.
Tsukishima took in a deep breath before opening his eyes, the golden hues sharpened that of like a crow. The middle blocker tuned out all noises as his mind was focused on one thing - to win this race. When Yukino-sensei announced about the sports festival, Tsukishima was planning to be a spectator when he found out that you had already signed him up for the boys' 500m run.
The blonde wanted to ask his teacher to remove his name from the list, but knowing you, you would have managed to convince Yukino-sensei to deny his request. So, he leave it be. At this point, Tsukishima was used to your usual antics. Besides, what harm would it bring him if he was to partake in the run.
"Students, please line yourself - GANBATTE STRING BEAN! WIN CLASS 1-4 A GOLD MEDAL!!!"
You cut off the host as you shouted into the microphone, your loud voice echoing throughout the field. Everyone present at the field turned their attention towards the stand where the host was situated at. To their amusement and surprise, a certain (h/c)-haired female was fighting with the host who was demanding to have his microphone back. Meanwhile, class 1-4 chair person was pulling on the girl, desperateness written all over her face as she tries to free the girl.
Tsukishima face palmed at the sight of you, wondering what on earth was wrong with you. Seriously, you should have your brain checked to see if there is anything wrong with it. Other students who were racing against him faced him with confusion/curiosity in their eyes.
"I don't know that girl at all." Tsukishima snapped, his eyes glaring at the other racers which caused them to shift their eyes else where.
"I'm sorry about the disruption. We shall proceed with the event once more." The host announced, having control over the mike once more.
Meanwhile, you could be seen dragging away by your classmates who was struggling against your wriggling body. You raised your fist into the air as you shouted angrily. "I will get revenge on you MC-kun! Watch my words!"
Michiko slapped a hand over your mouth, muffling your words as she sheepishly apologized. "I'm sorry about our classmate. There's something wrong with her, please ignore her. Thank you."
As Michiko said that, everyone began to laugh. At this point, you have given up and allowed your classmates to drag you away. However, when you passed by the starting line where Tsukishima was, your (e/c) eyes brightened up. You pushed your classmates away from you and cupped your mouth, shouting.
"GANBATTE STRING BEAN! IF YOU WIN A GOLD MEDAL, I WILL TREAT YOU TO STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!"
Tsukishima glared at you as Michiko once again covered your mouth as she pulled you away from the track. The middle blocker stared in amusement as he watched both you and Michiko argued. You might be a weird one that he was not planning to associate with the moment you stepped foot into the gym. However now Tsukishima could not imagine not having you in his life, bringing a storm with you wherever you go.
"Get ready! On your mark, get set, GO!"
A bang could be heard as the gun went off, indicating that the race has started. You stopped arguing with Michiko as you excitedly shift your eyes to the track where Tsukishima had taken a lead and was currently in first place. Your face beamed with pride for string bean as he easily crossed the finishing line, a loud cheer coming from your class.
Your (e/c) eyes came in contact with Tsukishima's golden ones as he stood there with a blank face despite winning first place. However, in his eyes, you could see that the middle blocker was happy at the fact that he won. You approached Tsukishima with a smirk on your face, him returning a smirk of his own.
"Congrats String Bean, you won first place."
"Tch. It felt like a walk through the park too be honest, waste of my time."
"I know right! I felt exactly the same way! Sometimes as a volleyball player, all this events feel like nothing compared to the training we go through."
Tsukishima tuned you out as you continued to babble on, his attention focused on something else. You realized that Tsukishima was ignoring you and he was looking at something else instead of paying attention to you.
"Oi! Pay attention to me when I am talking, string bean. It's rude of you to ignore me. Besides, what on earth are you looking at that is more important than me?" You complained, facing in the direction that Tsukishima was looking at.
The sight greeted you had you scowling as your face darkened. Standing opposite of the track was none other than Kagami Taiga, the red-haired first year basketball player that you would be competing later on. Kagami shifts his attention where he and Tsukishima was staring at each other intensely to you when he spotted you scowling at him.
Kagami simply gave you a smirk before turning his back to you and Tsukishima, walking away. Your face reflected confusion as you wondered what the hell just happened. You took a glance at Tsukishima who was rigid as a stone. Tsukishima's face was fixed into a frown, his hands clenched into fists as he continued looking towards the direction where Kagami was standing earlier on.
"Are you okay, string bean? You look tense. If it is about Kagami, don't worry. We will kick his ass later on court." You said, trying to comfort the middle blocker.
"Tch." Tsukishima's voice sharp as he shoved your arm away that was on his shoulders before turning on his heels and walked away. You rushed to match his pace, complaining about how rude of Tsukishima to ignore you when all you were doing is trying to comfort him.
However, all that was on Tsukishima's mind was the way how Kagami was looking at you just now. Kagami was looking at you as though he wanted to eat you or maybe taking you away from the middle blocker. Tsukishima had no clue why he was getting so worked up for, but one thing he know for sure was that he was not going to let anyone take you away from him.
After all, when something belongs to Tsukishima, it belongs to him forever. Kagami has to think twice before Tsukishima would ever give you up. You're his. (Not that he will tell you or you will have his hide before he could even say "volleyball".)
(A/N: I know I make it sound like Tsukishima is possessive of reader-chan, but that isn't really the case. The reason why Tsukishima act this way was because he was afraid that he would loose you to Kagami and he doesn't want that as he considered you as a good friend. When it comes to people, Tsukishima is cautious of them due to what his brother has done to him. However there was something about reader-chan that makes him feel the opposite. Tsukishima felt safe around you and that he could trust you, not that he would admit it. Hence why Tsukishima was protective of you. I hope this explains everything.)
***
"Hinata, (name)! Get down from there instantly! It's dangerous!" Daichi shouted as he stormed his way towards you and Hinata.
Hinata and you jumped off from the chairs that both of you were standing on and began running away from your captain who was chasing after you two, his face as black as his soul. ("Hey! My soul isn't black!" Oops, sorry Daichi. *shuffles away*)
The rest of the volleyball players laughed as they watched their captain trying to catch the two first years who were all over the place. It was currently lunch break now and the volleyball team was getting ready for the match against the basketball team.
"Now, now Hinata and (name). Stop teasing Daichi, he can't run that long. After all, he's getting old." Suga scolded both you and Hinata who stopped running and were apologizing, a guilty look on both faces.
"Hey! I'm not an old man!" Daichi shouted at Suga who simply gave a shrug.
"Well, it's the truth."
Both Daichi and Suga began arguing as the rest of you looked on, enjoying the show. You ate some popcorn as you enjoyed the show before you. Suga and Daichi oddly reminds you of an old couple who were always arguing about the littlest of things.
"Ne ne, don't you think that Suga-senpai and Daichi-senpai remind you of an old couple arguing?" You asked, still munching on some popcorn that was currently being passed around.
"WE ARE NOT A COUPLE!" Both Daichi and Suga shouted at their teammates, red in the face.
"See?"
Everyone nodded their heads, agreeing to what you say. You gave the two volleyball captains a smirk as they glared at you, daring you to say something.
"Well, I mean they are practically the father and mother of the volleyball team. Meanwhile, Asahi is the fragile uncle."
At this point, Daichi and Suga both were shouting in your face, denying the fact that they are the parents of the volleyball team. You just sat there with a blank look on your face, still eating the popcorn and not completely affected by the screaming going on.
"Wait, why am I the fragile uncle?" Asahi asked timidly, but no one heard him as they continued to watch the scene unfolding before them.
Poor fragile Uncle Asahi.
***
"Karasuno's volleyball team won another point!"
You smirked at Akashi who was glaring at you with hatred in his monochromatic eyes as you wiped off the sweat. The exhibition match between Karasuno's Boys' volleyball and basketball team was currently going on and the score is 15 to 8 with the volleyball team in the lead.
"I did say that my team and I were going to crash you." You said smugly as Akashi's glare deepened.
"Tch!" Akashi let out before turning his back to you and walked back to his team, most likely to discuss strategies with his teammates.
"Sugoi (name)-chan! That was amazing! Your strategy work against them!" Tanaka slapped you on the back as he praised you.
You gave him a smile with the peace sign as you winked. "Of course! This is why I'm the assistant coach."
Earlier on when the match began, your team were struggling to win point after point while the basketball team continued to win. No matter what your team tried, they could not seem to break past the basketball's defense. This came as weird to you considering that the boys should be able to win points easily as volleyball is what they live for.
So, you began to observe the basketball team and their game play to figure what was preventing your team from winning points. After a few minutes of observation, you were able to figure out their game play. The basketball team was using a mixture of basketball and volleyball to play against your team.
You asked your brother for a time out as you gathered your team and began to explain to them your new strategy.
The volleyball players gathered in front of their assistant coach, wondering what had she discovered.
"Now, listen carefully to what I had to say. The reason why we are struggling to win points against the basketball team is because they are using a mixture of basketball and volleyball in their game plan."
"How is that possible?" Daichi asked you, confusion in his eyes.
You shook your head and said. "I have no idea how they did that. But I came out with a plan that we can countered against their game play. This is how you do it..."
"Do you understand?" You asked your friends.
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, determination on their faces. You smirked at them as your (e/c) eyes fixed on the basketball team, smirks on their faces.
"Good. Now it's time to kick some basketball asses."
It's time for the volleyball players to counteract and this time round, you were going to help them.
"Thank you, Suga-senpai." You thanked your vice captain as he passed you your water bottle.
You took a huge gulp of water to re hydrate yourself when Asahi approached you, saying. "I want to thank you for telling Hinata to open up the way for me to spike the ball."
You beamed up at the ace. "No problem, Asahi-senpai. Once I figured out their game play, they were done for."
You turned to Hinata and Kageyama, praising them. "Hinata and Kageyama, good job on following my strategy. I know it was confusing when I first explained, but you guys did a splendid job nonetheless."
The duo gave a resounding "Osu!" as you laughed at their excitement. You glanced around at your teammates who were basically fooling around with one another, despite a match going on. Your eyes landed on Tsukishima as he approached you.
"Good job on putting in more effort, string bean. Although I feel that you could do better."
"Are you praising me or lecturing me?"
"Both! I'm praising and lecturing you at the same time. Geez."
"..."
You gave a sigh as Tsukishima simply ignored your comment. What was the point of saying anything to this tsundere beanpole when half of the time he's ignoring you? Instead of wasting your time with this kind of people, you decided to join Hinata and Kageyama who was having a competition at who can finished their water the fastest.
They might be idiot, but at least they were ten times more fun than Tsukishima.
"Good job." You heard Tsukishima as you took a step towards your idiotic friends' direction, your back facing him.
You turned around to reply when you realized that Tsukishima had already walked away. You shook your head as you smiled gently before saying.
"Such a tsundere."
***
"Daichi-san, nice receive! Tanaka-senpai, get ready to spike."
You shouted as you received the ball from Daichi and set the ball for Tanaka to spike.
"I'm going to crash you, you carrot-head!" Tanaka shouted as he spiked the ball, but only to be blocked by Akashi and Aomine.
You grit your teeth in frustration as your (e/c) eyes followed the volleyball, your mind working to come up with a strategy to help your team win points. Currently, it is the second set and the basketball team is leading with a score of 24 to 23. They are at match point and if you do not something fast, they are going to win the second set.
Your team managed to win the first set with ease once you figured out their game play and come out with a strategy to counter against the basketball team. You thought that the basketball would continued to use the same game play in the second set and you were confident that the volleyball team could win against them. After all, volleyball isn't their strong suit. However, you had clearly estimated them.
The basketball ball still used the same game play, but with a slight twist to it. They even managed to counter against Kageyama's and Hinata's freak set-and-spike and all of your strategies were constantly shut down by them. At this point, you were feeling frustrated.
You watched as once again the basketball team blocked Hinata's spike, indicating that they have won the second set. You glared at Akashi who smirked at you, his eyes showing that he had you trapped. You took a step forward when suddenly you felt someone placing their hand on your shoulder. You turned around to see who was it and it was none other than Tsukishima.
You glanced up at Tsukishima who was looking directly into Akashi's red and pink eyes. His golden hues hiding behind his glasses as Tsukishima gave your shoulder a squeeze, saying. "We'll get them back in the third set."
With that, you and Tsukishima turned your back towards the basketball team as the both of you walked back towards the bench, where your teammates are. Seeing the smiles on your teammates' faces, you knew that you are not alone in this fight.
After all, in volleyball, everybody on your side of the net is your ally.