Secrets (Haikyuu Fanfiction Series!!!)

25. Being a Leader

Keiji POV
(At Night)

I walk home through the neighborhood carrying my sports bag on my shoulder with my hands in my pockets. I take in a deep breath then exhale out seeing my cold breath.

We lost the quarter-finals against Shiratorizawa. Bokuto was frustrated by the loss of course, and so was the team. Even I was frustrated by how close our loss against Shiratorizawa was. The final score was 2-1 with the final set being 28-26.

I sigh.

We lost in the quarter-finals and didn't move on to the semi-finals. The match was close and even though we lost...If only I was a better setter...I shake my head. I shouldn't be thinking like that, I have no regrets in my gameplay as the setter and vice captain of the team.

Creak creak creak ~

I hear the creaky sound of someone slightly swinging on a swing.

Who would be here at this time?

I look over and see Haruka quietly sitting on the swing.

What is she doing here at this time? She should be home by now. I take a closer look and see her lost in thought. She doesn't seem like her usual self either.

Not even thinking twice about it, I walk over to her from behind and grab the chains of the swing. "What are you doing here this late?" I ask leaning down looking at her

"H-Huh?!" Haruka looks up and jolts back startled by my sudden appearance. "K-Keiji!"

Her cheeks flush bright red seeing how close I am to her and she averts her gaze. "I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?" she asks me embarrassed and I chuckle.

"It's not polite to ask a question when you were just asked a question," I tell her as I take a seat on the swing next to hers and she frowns.

"Of course you would say that since you're the only one to think like that," Haruka sighs and starts to swing again. "You may think it's lame, but I'm still thinking about my team's loss in the preliminaries."

"..." I remain silent and Haruka continues to talk.

"You weren't there, but in my matches against Nohebi and Itachiyama, I underestimated my opponents. And as a result my team lost because of my carelessness," Haruka sighs. "The third years haven't come back since then, and the first years are worrying about the way I've been," she tells me and puts her feet on the ground to stop swinging.

"I don't think I'm cut out for it. Being a captain or even an ace for my team. Everyone admires me, and it just makes me feel worse after our loss because I'm supposed to be the one that the team depends on," Haruka says with a sad look on her face.

...I see. Haruka is similar to me.

"I think you're perfect for the position as captain," I tell her and reflect back on myself. "To be honest, I always think like that about myself too. I think about how I could've done better plays to win our match. I always tell myself that I'm nothing in comparison to the other setters I know, " I admit and Haruka looks straight at me surprised.

"Keiji..." Haruka says surprised. "Is that true? Do you really think of yourself like that...? You're an amazing setter!" Haruka declares and I smile.

"You haven't changed at all. You always saw me like that," I mumble quietly and look at her with a serious gaze. "You are the captain and ace of the team. I'm vice captain and setter. The two of us are leaders, but we shouldn't burden everything ourselves. It's hard to keep in mind, but we should move on and learn from what we did wrong and win the next match."