The New Neighbor (USHIJIMA X OC)

19. A Night to Remember

Ushijima led Akira into the restaurant, being very observant of the males staring at her. He made sure to stay as close to her as possible while the hostess sat them at their table. Akira looked around to see a colorful jukebox currently shuffling through popular songs. She enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant, it was very modern and reminded her a bit of home.

"Hello," A male server came over to the table "I'm Evan, I'll be your server for tonight. Could I start you both with something to drink?" After he got the orders, he sent a wink to one of the guests at the table. When he walked away, Akira saw her boyfriend with wide eyes, and she burst out laughing.

"Guess you have more than girls who fangirl over you." She began to giggle and Ushijima just shook his head at her. When the server came back with their drinks, they ordered their food and Ushijima sparked up a conversation.

"What a big coincidence today, hmm?" He was referring to the events at the beach.

"Yeah, it was weird. I bumped into Iwaizumi and then boom, the other one." She rolled her eyes at the thought of him and took a sip of her lemonade.

"He gets a little too close for comfort, ya know? Why were they here anyway?"

"Iwaizumi just got married, the ceremony was here." She shrugged her shoulders before changing the subject. "So, how're the boys? I haven't seen them come over recently."

"They are all pretty busy with work. Semi is touring with his band, Goshiki and Shirabu had been studying for their finals, and Reon is finishing his volleyball season. On top of work, we don't usually have much time to meet up." Ushijima said plainly.

"Well, I do hope they come back soon. They are a fun time, except maybe Shirabu." She mumbled the last part to himself and he softly laughed at her comment. They continued talking about themselves.

Akira found out that Ushijima's parents were divorced and he and his mother lived with their grandmother when he left. The only thing he remembered about his father is that he was once a volleyball player at Shiratorizawa and became a Division 2 athlete. She also found out that Ushijima's mother tried to change his left-handedness, but his father stopped her.

"She really wanted you to change that? Why?" Akira ate her food and listened in on his response.

"It wasn't natural on her side of the family. My father said if I did pursue volleyball, it'd be my greatest strength." Ushijima finished his plate and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I've talked about my parents a bit, what about you?" He noticed the small shift in her posture. She straightened up a bit and gripped her fork a little tighter.

"Well, um, what do you want to know?"

"Why did they make you quit volleyball?" Ushijima felt he was crossing a line, but Akira knew he was curious and too blunt to not ask eventually. She only told him that they didn't want her to get hurt in the game anymore, but that wasn't the full truth.

"Well," She set her fork down and looked up at Ushijima "My mother played for the U-19 team for Japan. She was one of the best aces in her time, she wanted me to be just like her. I started training when I was around 6, Tetsu was just a year older than me. We mostly would practice passing outside together with my parents watching us. When I got to high school, it just got more stressful. My father would take me to the court every night for hours until everything was perfect. My mother softened up for my brother because he was much smarter than I was."

"I am also short, I didn't get the height my parents have. When I tried out for my high school team, I tried to be a setter, but my mother told me I wasn't smart enough to set. I was too thoughtless on the court."