Haikyuu!! Tobio's Girl. Timeskip

Timeskip 9

"How are you doing?" she asked with some concern.

"Good," he reassured her. "I bought a set of dumbbells, really fancy ones. Look." He showed her one in a shiny silver hue. "They're keeping me occupied. And what about you?"

"You know, just like everyone... Sitting put in place, wishing to run wild outside."

"Reina, don't even think about it! You must be careful. I mean, with your health history... Just don't go out, unless you have to. And wear a mask. And don't meet with people." He got a bit worked up. It was unusual for him to order his girlfriend around, but this was serious. Although she would always reassure him she was healthy now and there was no reason she shouldn't stay that way, her "healthy" meant under medical supervision and taking meds for life. He couldn't help worrying about it. Reina was the only person more concerned about it than him—doing everything she could to stay ok.

"Who are you? My doctor? Although he said the same thing... But don't worry. They've switched to remote work at the Institute. Giana is the only person I see recently—"

"Why would you see her?! Oh, right... you live together. I forgot."

"Oh, and also Dino."

"Why meet with him? Can't you talk online? Like normal people?"

"But he doesn't see any other people except me and Giana, and he lives nearby... he would even bring us groceries. It's like his main excuse to come here."

"But why would he want to come... Wait, him and Giana? Still...?"

Reina just nodded her head.

"Didn't you say that she said it was a one-time thing?" Tobio was so bored recently that he would even listen to gossip about people that he met only once. Well, they were Reina's friends, so she was invested enough to talk about it.

"As far as I know, it was a many-times thing by now. Although it's not official. If anything, it's weird. And the three of us still work together for school stuff... I would say I'm third-wheeling a lot, but instead it's like they come in turns for my advice. And I don't know what to say to them. Dino suddenly turned out to be so in love with her, desperate even, but he tries to keep it casual, not to scare her away. And I know that Giana really likes him, but she doesn't know if she wants a serious relationship. Especially with someone that works in the same field as her, like her ex. I don't know... It's all so..." Lacking words, she just waved her hands around her head helplessly. "I mean—"

"Reina... You don't have to explain to me that relationships can get complicated." He pointed from her to himself and back. "I know."

His remark made her chuckle softly. "But it might turn pretty serious soon. It's said that a full-on lockdown is coming, and they are both contemplating whether they should just get locked down together. Though they haven't talked about it with each other yet. But it got me thinking..." She lowered her gaze for a moment, then looked up at him hesitantly. "Maybe we should get locked down together as well. What do you think? I'm studying remotely for the time being, so I can just stay at your place, no problem," she said casually, clearly trying not to make it sound too serious.

"Oh, but I..." His heart sank. Damn, why didn't I think about this option earlier? Just the thought of how blissful it could be made what he had to say almost unbearable. "Reina... actually... the national team staff contacted me. They are planning to organize early this year... so we wouldn't get completely out of shape."

"Right..." She got downcast a bit.

"With the season cut short here, I have literally nothing to do," he kept explaining himself, "so I thought about going... You know, back to Japan. So I could at least train. Although, if you want to come here, maybe I should reconsider—"