Solar Flare

2: Spark

Friday after school, the volleyball club gathered their belongings and met in the gym while Coach Ukai got the bus ready. Everyone was brimming with excitement about seeing their friends and rivals again. Everyone, that is, except Tsukishima, who sat against a wall with his headphones on and his eyes shut. Yamaguchi, Yachi, and Hinata continually exchanged worried glances; each time a glance was thrown to Kageyama he shook his head in annoyance.

There wasn't any "assigned seating" on the bus. Everyone usually just sat with whoever they were closest to. Normal seat-buddies included Daichi and Sugawara, Kiyoko and Yachi, Asahi and Nishinoya, Hinata and Kageyama, and of course, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi. Everyone more or less migrated to the same seats out of habit at this point, after so many away matches and practices. Tsukishima managed to get onto the bus before Yamaguchi which left the freckled boy in a very uncomfortable predicament. On the one hand, Tsukki was his best friend and they always sat together and Yams really didn't want to upset the balance of the team (or draw attention to the problem he seemed to be having with Tsukishima). However, on the other hand, he also really didn't want to sit with someone who seemed to be actively ignoring him. He tentatively approached the seat, thinking to himself, 'Let's see how this weekend goes. If he doesn't start talking to me, I don't have to sit next to him on the way home.' As he sat down, he got no response from Tsukishima, who still had his headphones on and was staring out the window with intense focus.

As Yamaguchi predicted (and dreaded), Tsukishima did not say a single word the entire ride.

Upon arriving in Tokyo, Karasuno's volleyball team was met by several members of the other teams. Hinata, as always, was the first off the bus, quickly pursued by Kageyama. The energetic fireball immediately ran over to his closest friends from Nekoma, Kenma and Lev. The third and second years were greeted by members of both teams, and within the first two minutes, Nishinoya, Tanaka, and Taketora were loudly arguing over who could run the farthest carrying Kiyoko on their backs.

Tsukishima tried to slip off of the bus unnoticed and was sorely disappointed when Kuroo and Bokuto came running up to him. "Hey, glasses! What the hell?", called out Kuroo, rolling his tongue with each word. "Yeah!", hooted Bokuto, "Were you trying to give us-- your best buddies-- the slip?". Tsukishima sighed and pushed his glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. "If only I could be so lucky", he finally said, a smile creeping up at the corners of his lips. "Come on! Put your stuff down and come to the third gym!", Bokuto cheered, as he and Kuroo led Tsukishima away from the group. As Tsukki followed his pushy frenemies, all he could hear was Hinata yelling things like "GWAH!" and "SHOOP!" amidst his excitable talking.

On Saturday-- the first day with real practice matches-- Tsukishima was on fire. One couldn't even tell that he had skipped all the practice sessions he had. Nearly every spike from the opposition was met by Tsukishima's strong hands each time he was in the front. The team, of course, was amazed at how well he was doing and wondered if he was just blowing them off to practice his own way. As always, Hinata spared no words in praising how awesome Tsukki was each time he pulled off an unexpected block. Even as the day wore on and the others tired, Tsukishima seemed to have an endless reserve of energy and drive when the ball came into his court.

When the practice matches were finally over and the coaches dismissed their respective teams, Kuroo approached Tsukishima once more. "Yo, you coming?", he asked nonchalantly, as if Tsukishima's answer was a given. Tsukki nodded, adjusted his glasses, and began following Nekoma's middle blocker out of the gym.

"Tsukki! Wait up!", came a sudden shout from behind the tall blonde. As he turned, he was surprised to see Hinata running towards him. He nodded to Kuroo, "I'll be there in a minute", and, as one athlete walked away, the other approached. "Tsukki", started Hinata. Again, Tsukishima adjusted his glasses. "How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that?", he mumbled. Hinata beamed. "C- can I come with you? Please?", the red-headed ball of sunshine asked, punctuating his sentence with a small pout. Tsukishima rolled his eyes. "Why?", he asked, looking towards the floor. Hinata cocked his head. "Why??? Why not! I really want to get some more tips from Kuroo and Bokuto. And, I mean, I am a middle blocker, too, y'know? So I should probably practice my blocks some more and--" Tsukishima raised his hand to his forehead. "Alright, alright, Shrimp, fine." After a pause, Tsukishima added, "I am surprised, though". Hinata cocked his head. "Surprised...?", he repeated. Tsukki grinned as he turned away from the redhead. "I'm surprised that your boyfriend-- the king-- is letting you out of his sight." Hinata flushed with embarrassment. "Kageyama is not my boyfriend!", he exclaimed. "Yeah, okay", Tsukishima called over his shoulder, "Let's go before Kuroo gets on my case again." As the two started walking, Hinata tried to quip back at Tsukishima. "You mean, before your boyfriend gets upset with you?" Tsukishima stopped walking, glanced behind him, raised an eyebrow, and said, "You know Kuroo is dating Kenma, right?". Hinata's eyes fell to the ground. "O-- oh. Right. Kenma did mention...". As Hinata's voice trailed off, Tsukishima smirked. "You might want to think before you try being sarcastic, you know?"