Girlfriend For Hire | Haikyuu Various , Reverse Harem

116 | crippling

"Acosta Madeleine Kaibara of Argentina." The two-toned purple haired giant ducked her head a bit just so her medal could be put on her.

"Seraphim Brielle Klein of USA." The white-haired girl took her medal from the usherette and placed it over herself.

"Reo Regina Hemmings of Australia." Shrugging her shoulders, the red-haired shooting guard gladly accepted the award.

"And the last spot goes to, Mizuno Kasai of Japan." The magentanette blinks in surprise when her name was called. She looks at her captain, who only points towards the podium, motioning for her to go and accept her medal.

"You rock, mom!" Jordan yells, while her teammates had mixed reactions of amusement and pride.

"I thought she was the mom of the group?" Ichigo sweatdrops at Jordan's behavior.

"I thought you were the mom no cap." Hanuka cackles at the brunette.

"To give the final special award, may we call on the principal sponsors for this year's Tokyo Junior Olympics." The announcer goes on while the atmosphere remained elated due to the host country's landslide win in basketball.

"The Most Valuable Player award goes to Ymari Shekinah Seinaru of Japan!"

Ymari, who didn't even go up the stage to get the group award earlier because she was still conversing to Inko about something, looks up when her name was called – she didn't exactly hear anything else but her name. She looks back at her coach and bows lightly to excuse herself.

"Just a sec." Seinaru walks towards the stage as Inko nods.

She continues her walk as she heard the crowd's deafening cheers of her name. As she brushes past her team, she suddenly noticed an outcasted emotion in the sea of happiness. She blinked, almost halting in her steps as she spots Utsui's face filled with dread.

"Utsui...?" She muttered underneath her breath as she continued walking up the podium, her eyes lingering on her brunette friend who seemed to have something on her mind.

When she finally arrived at the stage, with the rest of the Prodigal Five and her senior, Kasai on a podium behind her, she notices Utsui's eyes dart to something on her side with unease.

Seinaru's brows furrowed at her demeanor as she followed Utsui's gaze. 'What could she possibly be-'

Brown hair.

Brown eyes.

Mildly creased shirt.

Piercings.

Utsui's eyes remained trained on her best friend, awaiting her reaction. Ymari's eyes washed with recognition as she flinched ever so slightly that no one else but Utsui noticed the faint change in her demeanor for a split-second.

Yuuji Terushima handed her a golden Olympic trophy with the label MVP on it.

"Congratulations, Mari-chin."

Her world stopped at the nickname he used to address her. Her eyes flitted upwards to meet his coffee brown ones.

In an instant, her heart plummeted into the depths of her chest, as if gripped by an unseen force. Shockwaves rippled through her veins, freezing her in a moment of disbelief. Time seemed to stand still as her mind struggled to comprehend the unexpected twist of fate as her eyes remained staring into the depths of his coffee-colored ones.

The world around her blurred, its vibrant colors and sounds of the crowd's cheers fading into the background, overshadowed by the overwhelming surge of astonishment that washed over her. It was as if the very foundation of her reality had been shaken, leaving her suspended in a suspended state of emotional turbulence. The weight of the shock bore down upon her, threatening to consume her, but within that momentary pause, she managed to summon an extraordinary strength to maintain a serene facade.