His Warrior Queen: A Haikyuu!! Novel (Tsukishima x OC)

Chapter 40: Brave Face

Yamaguchi strode forward into the crowd, trying to cool his face by moving quickly.  Tsukki must have seen what I bought, he groused to himself, and of course he had to go and tease me about it.  Well, he'll get his next weekend.  Yamaguchi's lips quirked into something that might have resembled the usual look on his best friend's face.

Yachi was hurrying behind the boy, trying to catch up.  "Hey, Yamaguchi, slow down!" she yelped.

Yamaguchi stopped, looking back at the girl, feeling a little guilty.  Brilliant move Tadashi, you invite the girl out to this thing with you, and then you rush off, leaving her alone.  Don't be such a jerk, or she'll definitely never want to go on a real date with you.  He smiled at her sheepishly as she caught up to him, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.  "Sorry about that, I...uh...was just excited to get going to the next thing, you know?" he finished lamely.  Oh boy, he thought, maybe if I actually, physically, stuck my foot in my mouth, I'd look like slightly less of an idiot.  He internally facepalmed.

Yachi smiled widely, nodding her head.  "I know, right!  This has been such a super fun day!"  Ugh, Hitoka, super fun?  Really?  What are you, like eight?  You're supposed to be sixteen and on a double date!  A date!  Keep saying things like that and he'll definitely never see you as a girlfriend...more like a kid who needs babysitting.  The girl mentally rolled her eyes at herself, trying hard to settle down and act a little more mature.

Yamaguchi smiled back at her, his eyes lighting up a little.  "So, you're having a good time, then, Yachi?"

The two stood face to face in the street, people flooding past them in both directions.  "Well, yeah, of course I am, Yamaguchi!  I mean, I always have a wonderful time with youuuuuhhhhh...guys!" Yachi panicked as she realized what she said, desperately trying to save face, she whipped around to look for Nakano and Tsukishima.  

Tadashi couldn't help but smile softly at the back of Yachi's head.  Maybe, I've been worried for nothing, he thought, just like with Naka-chan and my serves.  He looked around behind Yachi, suddenly realizing she wasn't turning back around.  "Hey?  Where did Naka-chan and Tsukki go?"

"I don't know," Yachi answered, looking around at the crowd of people.  "I thought they were right behind us."

As the pair scanned the area around them, Yamaguchi suddenly became aware that the two of them were something of a traffic plug, standing still in the middle of the street.  He spotted a boba stand a bit of a ways up the block.  "Hey, we'd better get out of the middle of the street.  There's a boba stand up ahead - want a milk tea?"

"Sure," Yachi replied, "and then I'll text Naka-chan.  Lead the way!"

Yamaguchi headed off up the street as the crush of people around them seemed to suddenly thicken.  Yachi followed as best she could, dragging along the ridiculously large stuffed dog she'd won, but after yet another surge of bodies in the crowd, she began to realize she'd lost her fix on Yamaguchi's tousled hair.  She sighed, frustrated, and a little scared.  I'm fine, she told herself.  We were headed for a boba stand.  I'll keep moving forward and look for it, Yamaguchi will be there. She took a deep breath, remembering her prayer from earlier.  Nakano wouldn't be afraid, and there's no reason I should be either.  A group of boys came through, trying to run in the mass of people.  They slammed past Yachi, knocking the toy from her hands and almost sending her sprawling to the pavement.  She had scrunched her eyes shut and was bracing for impact when she felt a hand grab her arm, pulling her back upright.  She stumbled, looking up to the owner of the hand with relief on her face.

And was shocked to discover it wasn't Yamaguchi.

"Hey, are you alright, Miss?"

Her first thought was that the boy looked a little like Kageyama.  His hair was dark black, and similarly cut, but fuller, it swung gently in the evening breeze.  His eyes were blue, but also somewhat dulled, hiding behind a pair of square-rimmed glasses.  His face was rounder than Kageyama's as well, and he seemed like he might be a bit older.  Yachi shook her head, trying to clear her mind.  "Oh, yeah.  Thank you, I-I-I'm fine."