Descending |Haikyuu!! Reader x Various|

.26.

The only thing better than playing with Karasuno has got to be celebrating with them.

There were intermittent cries of glee all around our table, the food was rolling in by the dishful, and nobody seemed able to stop smiling. Especially not me.

Even Tsukishima, mocking and casual as he was, couldn't come up with a comment to damper anyone's mood. Or maybe he was just holding them in for once. Either way, he silently looked at us like a particularly amusing group of children.

The match with Aoba Johsai had turned out to be just as grueling as expected. We went a full three sets, winning both the first and the last one. The second set couldn't be saved, as I had expected. When the final whistle blew, the tension in the gym finally exploded.

There was a short period of time I couldn't really recall perfectly, but I knew there was a lot of hugging and cheering. Had I actually hugged Tsukishima with so little reserve?

Like I said, it was a little foggy.

"(Boy Name)! Are you going to eat that? You need to rebuild muscle!" Nishinoya's typical scolding about my diet interrupted my recollection.

"This is the third plate you've placed under my nose." I reminded him, laughing when his expression did not change from his expectant glare.

"You need it! Our ace must be at full power by next month!" His words were punctuated by another dish being pushed my way.

"Thanks for your concern." I rolled my eyes, the affection for my ridiculous teammates growing despite itself.

"Nishinoya-san? Isn't that your plate?" Tsukishima's voice cut off his next sentence, and he pointed to Noya's plate on the other side of the table. Where Hinata and Tanaka had suddenly been helping themselves.

"You vultures!" He was gone in a flash, and I was suddenly very grateful for the megane sitting next to me.

"Thank you." I sighed, but it didn't seem as exasperated as I had planned.

"You should be out by now. How are you still awake?" He questioned lightly, watching my eyelids droop lazily.

"Same with you. You were all over the place today." I replied. "In a good way."

"Wow, you really are tired. Was that an open compliment I just heard?" He had adorned a mocking smile, the one that made me want to slap him and kiss him all at once.

"Shut up and finish your food." I nudged him with my elbow, avoiding looking at his smile in case of spontaneous disorientation.

I looked up at the table, watching everyone laugh and stuff their faces. All but one.

Ennoshita was studying Tsukishima very closely, suspicion written all over his face. I turned to see what was wrong, and saw him studying me in return. With a tiny, happy-looking smile slightly brightening his features. He didn't try to hide it when we made eye contact, but he looked a little sheepish at being caught.

"Chikara is pretty interested in your behavior right now, yeah?" I hinted, and his eyes slowly traveled up to Ennoshita's gaze. His features morphed into understanding and he tried to look nonchalant about his next words.

"Oops. Parents have eyes in the back of their heads, you know." I laughed a little, but the two of us turned back around to face forward.

"I'm gonna go ahead to the bus, okay? I'm tired." I told Tsukishima when I realized the others at the table weren't even close to finishing. He nodded, but made no other move to act like he heard me.

I let Ukai know where I was going, and made my way outside. The air had turned cool since we had arrived, but it felt good on my skin after being in the stuffy restaurant.

I sat in the long seat in the back, taking up the vast majority of the space as I laid down. The game's lingering energy seemed to drain from my body as I felt my breathing slow to even, steady breaths...

I woke up where I didn't fall asleep, which was pretty disorienting. I realized I was still on the bus, but instead I was sitting up in the seat second from the back. I looked over to my seat mate, none other than Tsukishima.

"When did I get here?" I yawned and stretched my arms over my head.

"Do you not remember?" He laughed when I nodded. "You were like a zombie."

"Was not." I mumbled, but I had no evidence supporting that advocation.

"Right. It's difficult to wear a seatbelt when you're laying across quite a few seats." He answered before I could ask why I was moved. I nodded again, still kind of drowsy.

"Where are we?"

"About an hour out. You could go back to sleep, if you wanted." He murmured quietly, and I realized the two in front of us, Yamaguchi and Hinata, had dozed off.

"I'm good." I pulled myself up, looking over the seat and into the darkened bus. Narita and Ennoshita were two seats ahead of us talking in quiet voices, but everyone else seemed to be asleep.

"So what happened today? When I was off the court?" I asked this after quite a bit of forethought, wondering if it was insensitive or not.

"Well," he chuckled a little, "I think you actually broke the king."

"Kageyama? How?"

"He was a little... He was pouting, really." Tsukishima laughed a little, but the humor was dry.

"What? Why?"

"I think he just got out of his element. One of Tanaka's hits got knocked down, and he just let it get to him." Tsukishima was obviously trying to sound indifferent, even if he was failing.

"Get to him?"

"Started hesitating with his tosses. Hinata started getting blocked, probably because Seijou is getting used to him, as much as we've played them. He just started to lash out. Got reckless." He shrugged, but looked a little guilty about his words.

"Reckless? That's not a word I'd use for Kageyama." I replied, incredulity laced in my words.

"He'd started to rely on you too much. I'm surprised you didn't notice, the master observer you are. He sort of expected to be able not to worry about the block if it got to that. It made him grumpy." He finished, and he sounded like he had ended the conversation.

"Oh." I answered lamely, trying not to look like I was feeling guilty. I had suspicions that I was the reason they lost their rhythm in the middle of the game, but Tsukishima seemed to prove them.

Another part of his explanation seemed to stick out to me as well.

Had Kageyama started to rely on me during games?