dubious → haikyuu!

02

Akagi thought he was going mental.

"Guys," he said once more, frustration chipping away at his smile. "Where is Atsumu?" There was no way in hell he would let that jerk off the hook for ditching practice.

The first-year, Riseki, looked at Akagi nervously. He too wondered where the loud-mouthed setter had vanished to, but was a little more hesitant about voicing it. Especially when the entire team was pretending the guy didn't exist.

Ginjima paused from his serve routine to laugh. "Atsumu? I haven't heard that name in years."

Kosaku did a little fist pump after his serve landed in, and then turned to face Akagi as well. "Yeah dude," he said with a grin, "don't know who you're talking about."

The libero rolled his eyes, slowly accepting defeat. "Fine," he said begrudgingly.

On the other side of the net, Kita eyed Suna and Osamu intently as they served, prompting a shared look of nervousness between them. The captain then turned to look at the clock, which clearly displayed that they still had over an hour left.

Aran was practicing his serves happily, incredibly pleased with the relatively relaxed ambience of the gym.

Then, the door made an awkwardly loud noise. Everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to see the culprit. But the entryway was empty.

The team watched intently, hearing muffled whispers and what sounded like a laugh of disbelief. Two figures emerged, inspiring plenty of mixed feelings for everyone involved. To the dismay of several people, one blonde twin was accounted for.

It appeared Atsumu was standing behind a girl, using her as some sort of... shield?

"Aha!" Akagi said triumphantly, pointing a finger at the two. "He does exist!"

His voice echoed throughout the gym, prompting Ginjima to shove his face in his hands to muffle his laughter.

Atsumu looked thoroughly offended at the outburst, (and plenty confused) but continued to hide behind the girl. 

He still didn't know her name.

The pair did a little shuffle toward the bleachers, the girl looking completely unbothered. Riseki quietly wondered how she hadn't run away yet, being stared down by a gym full of giants and all.

"You know, we can see you," Kosaku called out.

From behind the girl, a forlorn voice responded. "No you can't."

In a way, Atsumu was right. Suna genuinely could not see who had brought the gym to a standstill. So, he resorted to peering through the volleyball net. When the realization hit him he snorted loudly, slapping a hand to his mouth. Osamu shot him an odd sort of look, one that their captain couldn't quite decipher. But one thing was made very clear to Kita. Suna Rintarou knew her too.

Once Atsumu assessed that his life was no longer in mortal danger, he quickly let go of the girl's shoulders. She turned to face him, a look of pure amusement etched onto her features. Woah, he thought, taken aback by the sudden proximity. They were so close that he could totally see the freckles that dusted the deep amber of her nose and cheeks.

Why wasn't she as clearly flustered as he was? It was starting to make him nervous.

Distracted, his guard was down. A fatal mistake.

Tall, tall shadows loomed over the two of them. And there they were, in all their glory. Ojiro Aran and Kita Shinsuke.

Atsumu took it upon himself to look at least a little sorry. He spared a quick glance at the girl, who didn't seem the slightest bit affected.

"Hey Aran," she said in a nonchalant sort of way, flashing him a megawatt smile. "Kita," she added kindly, nodding to the captain in acknowledgement.

They both smiled at her genuinely, confirming Atsumu's suspicion that she wasn't some sort of fan. So how did she know them? No. The better question was how did they know her.

"Minami," Kita said, "what brings you here?"

Atsumu smirked, trying in vain to save face. "Was just walkin' her here."

A brief moment passed, the entirety of the gym's attention focused solely on the four of them.

Minami laughed, breaking the stiff silence. "Yeah, more or less. I was just going to wait outside for Rintarou, but Atsumu offered to walk me here."

Kita smiled. "Feel free to sit wherever. It's no problem."

Ah. So they were going to ignore Atsumu.

"Alright," she said cheerfully, "thanks guys!" Minami went to sit over on the bleachers, her baggy jeans almost catching on the corners.

As soon as her back was turned, Atsumu felt whiplash from the sudden change in tension. Aran and Kita were looking at him in a way that sent chills running down his spine. If he didn't know them any better, he would think they were seconds away from pummeling him into the shiny gym floor.

He sighed, head hanging low. "Sorry guys. I was stuck in a tough spot."

Kita's stoic expression turned to one of puzzlement. "Literally or figuratively?" He asked, in a way that suggested he was a bit hesitant to find out.

Atsumu looked around quickly, to ensure no one was listening. He was desperate to preserve any shred of dignity he had left. It seemed that everyone had resumed practicing their serves, so he leaned in.

With his voice lowered to a shockingly uncharacteristic degree he whispered, "literally."

It took everything in Aran to not laugh mercilessly at the mere thought. So very calmly he asked, "could you elaborate?"

"Fence," Atsumu mumbled, trying hard not to wither away on the spot.

Out of absolutely no where, Osamu let out an outrageously loud laugh, one that caught the entire gym off guard. He was, in fact, listening to Atsumu's pitiful explanation. Everyone was.

The great thing about laughter is how contagious it is. It also tends to get even better when you're not supposed to be doing it.

In several minutes the rest of the team was in absolute shambles, clutching their stomachs and howling with laughter.

Kita outstretched his hand, and placed it on Atsumu's shoulder. "How about you run with me next time," he said carefully, deliberately ignoring how Aran was crying real tears of mirth.

Meanwhile in the bleachers, Minami Reiko had absolutely no fucking clue as to what was going on. She smiled at the thought. The lack of context was pretty funny. In the corner of the gym, she spotted Suna shaking with laughter.

Slowly, her smile stretched into a grin. She would definitely be waiting inside from now on.