-After School-
Both the boys and girls volleyball team had the afternoon off due to yesterday's relentless Interhigh event.
Theres only a little over a month until Nationals begins...
I thought, walking besides Kita as we made our way to the front gates.
As we were walking we saw the twins surrounded by fangirls.
We both sweat-dropped at the scene.
"Ever since the Interhigh tournament, they've been approached by a lot of girls and received many gifts, they bring something home everyday" I told Kita, as we both avoided them.
"I see, yer know some of them even try and sign up for the managers position which makes the captain get really irritated" Kita said, remembering his captains remarks about the fangirls.
I laughed and pat his shoulder.
"I feel so bad for you"
We continued to walk, sharing some stories and bantering occasionally until a first year boy called out to me, his hands behind his back.
"Excuse me, Miya-senpai, m-may I speak with you?" he asked, looking at me.
I looked at him then at Kita, a bit confused.
"I'll go wait for ya at the gates" he said, walking away.
I turned back to the boy with a polite smile.
"What can I do for ya?" I asked.
He fidgeted a little before answering.
"W-would you like to go out with me, s-senpai?" he stuttered, bringing out a rose, his eyes briefly meeting mine before looking at the floor.
Oh how cute...
I chuckled mentally, admiring the boy's courage.
"I admire yer courage but I'm sorry, I already have my eyes on someone else " I told him, feeling slightly guilty.
"Oh, I see" he muttered, disappointed.
I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, I'm sure that there's someone out there waiting for you to find them" I reassured.
Gosh, I hope that at least makes him feel better...I don't know how to deal with this...
I nervously thought.
The boy then straightened up and looked at me.
"Alright, I believe you senpai, thank you" he answered, a small smile gracing his face.
I started cheering in my head.
"But please accept this, I got it just for you, I will consider it my first step to moving on" he said, pushing the rose in front of me.
I took the rose from his hands, gingerly and smiled.
"Thank you...well, I'll be off now, have a safe trip home" I bid, waving at him before walking away.
"Y-You too senpai" he called out.
I chuckled and made my way to the front gates, smelling the rose.
"Where did yer get that?" Kita questioned, looking at the rose.
"Oh, the boy from before gave this to me when he confessed" I answered, twirling the rose around my fingers.
"...I see, did yer accept him?" Kita asked.
"No..but I admired his courage and turned him down as nice as I could" I responded, admiring the rose.
"Hm...do yer like roses?" Kita asked, grabbing my hand as he started to walk.
"I do, they're my favourite flower" I answered, smelling the rose once again.
Kita stared at the rose.
"Want to smell it?" I asked, putting the flower close to his face.
"No, thank you" he replied, tightening his hold on my hand slightly.
I hummed and smiled at him.
"What's with yer and holding my hand at random times, hm?" I asked, teasingly.
"Do yer not like it?" Kita asked, looking at me.
"I-I didn't say that, I just wanted to know why" I explained, cursing myself for stuttering.
Kita paused before answering.
"I just like holding yer hand" he admitted, looking towards the front.
I hummed in response, my cheeks coloured a light shade of pink, oblivious to the fact that Kita was also blushing.
We continued to walk, hand-in-hand, continuing with our conversation, teasing each other from time to time until we arrived at my house.
"Bye, Kita~" I waved, smiling.
"Bye, Miya" he waved back before walking in the direction of his house.
-Girl's Volleyball Gymnasium-
The weeks passed by as Nationals were just around the corner.
We were having a practice match against the boys again, both teams equally exhausted from the long game.
It was Nina's turn to serve.
*SMACK*
"NINA, YER SHIT"
"S-SORRY, HARU-CHAN"
Everyone watched as the ace chased the setter around the court, throwing volleyballs at her as payback.
Both teams ended up backing away, afraid of being hit by the volleyballs being thrown by Haruko at lightning speed as Suna filmed the entire thing as usual.
The coaches called for a water break, seeing Haruko in one of her rage fits.
I sat down with Kita, drinking my water and watching my surroundings for incoming bullets.
"OUCH!!! YER GOT THE WRONG PERSON" Atsumu shouted, getting hit by a ball which Nina threw.
Kita and I sweat-dropped at the scene, watching Tsumu and Haruko aim volleyballs at Nina.
-After Practice-
I walked out of the locker room, seeing everyone huddled together, discussing something secretly.
I wonder what they're talking about?...
I thought, walking towards them.
Osamu seemed to have noticed me and punched Atsumu.
"OI, DO YER WANT TO START SOMETHING?!?!?" he challenged, squaring up.
This resulted in the group separating and stop talking as they watched the twins bicker.
"What just happened?" I questioned, looking at the now bickering twins.
"O-Oh I'm not sure" Nina said, shrugging.
"Probably something stupid" Haruko added, looking at the twins.
"I think it's time for everyone to go home now, don't ya think?" Ginjima suggested.
"Yea, I'll head out first, bye!!!" Nina shouted before running out of the gym.
I turned to Haruko, confused at Nina's behaviour.
"What's wrong with her?" I asked, pointing to where Nina ran off.
Haruko only shrugged and said goodbye before following suit.
"Nee-san, we're going to go somewhere, we'll come home later" Osamu said.
"Alright then, stay safe" I replied, without a second thought.
"Bye, Nee-san~" Atsumu cheered, walking out with Osamu.
I noticed everyone acting weird but shrugged it off.
"Let's go home" Kita called out, waiting for me at the door.
Finally..someone who isn't acting strange...
I followed him as he walked me home.
-The Next Day: Miya Household-
I woke up, washed up and got dressed for school.
I went downstairs, smelling food and hearing chatter, coming from the kitchen.
Huh?...Haven't Okaa-san and Otou-san left for work yet?...
I thought, confused.
I walked into the kitchen seeing my parents in their work attire.
"Oh good morning, Hana-chan!" Okaa-san greeted happily, noticing me.
"Good morning, Hana" Otou-san repeated, drinking his coffee.
"Morning, why haven't you left for work yet?" I asked, taking a seat next to my father.
"We're both going to head out after yer brothers leave" Otou-san replied.
"Oh..any reason why?" I questioned, looking at my mother.
Okaa-san looked at me with a strange look in her eyes.
"Eh? Don't you remember?" she asked, putting food down in front of me.
"Remember what?" Answering her before putting food in my mouth.
Otou-san suddenly started to laugh as I looked at him strangely.
"It's yer birthday, how could ya forget?" he answered, putting down his mug.
My eyes widen in realisation as I looked at my phone, checking the date.
"Oh..."
My mother sighed as my father continued to laugh.
"Dear, you're going to wake up the twins if you don't be quiet" Okaa-san scolded, slapping his shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry"
I zoned out their chatter, continuing to eat.
"I'll be heading out now, bye" I said to my parents.
"Bye, happy birthday, Hana-chan~" Okaa-san sang, in her usual happy tone.
"Stay safe, happy birthday" Otou-san said, in a calmer tone than my mother.
I closed the door as I walked to school, leaving the twins with my parents.
-Inarizaki High School: Before School-
I walked into class, not seeing Haruko, Nina or Kita in their seats.
Huh..that's weird...
I thought, sitting at my desk, taking out a small sketchbook, starting to draw.
Haruko then walked into class and sat down next to me, looking at what I was drawing.
"Oh Haru, hey" I greeted, looking at her.
"Yo" she replied, leaning back on her chair.
We continued to talk, waiting for the bell to ring.
Just before the bell rang Kita walked into class, waving at me before going to his seat.
Fujiwara-sensei walked into class, starting the lesson, turning around to write something on the board.
Nina then appeared in the door-way as she secretly walked into class without the teacher noticing.
"Hm..I'm surprised that she was able to walk in without making noise" Haruko commented, mildly surprised.
I laughed behind my hand, quietly.
-Lunch-
As soon as the bell signalled for lunch, Nina sprinted out of class.
"What is with her today..." I said, looking at the door.
"I have no idea..." Haruko shrugged.
"I have to go somewhere so I can't eat with ya today, sorry" Haruko told me.
"Don't worry about it, have fun" I smiled at her.
She waved back and walked out, leaving me alone to pack away my things.
"Let's go and eat" Kita called out, standing beside me.
I smiled and nodded in response, walking next to him.
We ended up sitting under a tree, close to our classroom and started to eat.
.
.
.
After we ate, we decided to walk around and stretch our legs.
As we were talking, we ran into Aran and a nervous looking Haruko.
"Hey, Hana" Aran waved.
"H-Hi" Haruko stuttered out.
Before I could say anything back, Haruko dragged Aran with her to who knows where.
"Huh?...Well that was weird..." I said, looking down at the hallway where they disappeared, suspiciously.
Kita nodded his head in agreement and continued walking to class with me.
-After School-
"Everyone is acting so strange today" I commented, slinging my bag on.
"I wonder why they're like that?" Kita hummed in agreement.
As soon as the bell rang, Haruko quickly packed up and ran out of the classroom with Nina following suit.
I shrugged it off, thinking that they were just excited to go and play.
Kita and I walked out of class, on our way to the gym.
"I'll walk you to your gym" Kita offered.
"Sure" I answered with a shrug.
We walked towards the girl's gym, finding the door closed.
"Eh? Normally the door is opened, club doesn't officially start until 10 minutes later" I commented, slightly confused.
Kita didn't reply as he stood behind me.
"Why don't ya just open the door, they might've just closed it to prevent the balls from flying out" he told me.
"Hm..that actually makes sense" I hummed.
"...yer make it sound like I don't normally make any sense" Kita deadpanned.
"Hey!! I didn't mean it like that" I responded, opening the door to find it dark inside.
"Oh what the hell..." I said before walking in, Kita following afterwards.
I walked inside, about to find the light switch when the door closed, making it pitch black.
"Well..looks like I'm gonna die" I commented, trying to find the light switch.
The lights then suddenly turned on as the confetti was thrown.
"SURPRISE!!!!!" a bunch of people shouted at the same time.
I flinched in surprise, not expecting people to be in here.
"What the...huh?" I questioned, confused.
"Looks like I'm going to die, what the hell" Suna laughed, putting his phone away.
"I thought I was going to get murdered..." I admitted, shrugging as Suna continued to laugh.
"Make a wish, Hana" Nakamura-senpai smiled, walking closer to me with a cake.
I laughed and made my wish before blowing out the candles.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HANA!!!!!!" Nina yelled, crushing me in a hug.
"Thanks...when did yer have time to plan all this" I asked, looking around and seeing the decorations.
There was a big banner saying 'Happy Birthday Hana-chan' at the back, a table full of drinks, food and some presents.
"We managed to pull all this together during lunch" Aran explained.
"I was actually so nervous that you've seen straight through me" Haruko admitted.
"So that's why yer ran away, I thought I was because yer confessed to each other or something" I teased, making both aces blush.
"H-Hana!!!" they both shouted.
I laughed in response.
"Thank you, even though yer didn't have to do all this...thank you" I said, smiling at the team.
"NAWWW, NEE-SAN" Atsumu cried, jumping on me with the rest following suit.
"H-hey!!!"
.
.
.
"Here ya go" Haruko said, giving me a slice of cake.
I thanked her before putting a piece of the cake in my mouth.
I hummed in satisfaction.
"Is it good?" Osamu asked, standing besides me with a plate of cake.
I nodded, swallowing it.
"Where did you get it?" I asked curiously.
"Tsumu and I made it" he answered, eating some cake.
I ruffled his hair.
"Thanks, it's really good" I praised.
"Hey!! What about me?!?!" Atsumu called out, popping up next to me.
I ruffled his hair too.
"You too, Tsumu, good job"
.
.
.
"Well guys, I think its time for us to clean up" Mito suggested, looking at the time.
"Right" Nakamura agreed, getting the cleaning supplies.
I was about to begin throwing the trash away before my hands were grabbed by Atsumu.
"What are yer doing, Tsumu?" I questioned, looking at him.
"It's yer birthday, just go home first, we'll stay behind and clean" Tsumu said.
"B-but I should at least help" I reasoned, trying to get out of his grip.
"No no, he's right, just go home, we'll stay and clean up" Haruko said, pushing me towards the door.
"Samu and I will bring yer stuff back, Nee-san" Tsumu called out.
"H-Haruko!!" I sputtered out, getting pushed towards the entrance.
"Hey Kita!!" Haruko called out.
Kita looked up.
"Take her home and make sure she doesn't come back in here" Haruko told him, nodding at him.
Kita nodded in response as he grabbed his bag and walked out with me.
After the we were thrown out of the gym, Kita and I decided to go to the park.
We saw a familiar hill and walked up, sitting under the tree.
"Yer know, it was the twins' idea to throw a birthday party for ya" Kita smiled.
I looked at him with surprise before I chuckled.
"I see...well I'm very grateful for that" I spoke softly, looking at the warm coloured clouds as we sat in a comforting silence.
"I've decided to give yer present now" Kita said, breaking the silence.
I looked at him with surprise.
"Y-you didn't have to get me anything, Kita" I told him.
"No...I wanted to do this" he replied, taking out a small box and handing it to me.
I looked at the nicely designed box, then back to him.
"Go on...open it" he urged softly.
I opened the box, my eyes widening.
I saw a silver necklace with a rose pedant, hanging from it, glistening in the light.
"K-Kita...it's beautiful...but I can't possibly accept this..." I looked at him.
"You can and you will" Kita replied, smiling at me.
"But-"
"No buts" he cut me off.
I sighed, seeing that it was hopeless arguing with him.
"Then...help me put it on?" I asked.
"Of course" he answered.
I gave him the necklace as I turned around and pulled my hair up.
I felt the cold metal on my skin, Kita's fingers trailing across it, almost making me shutter.
"I'm done" he said.
I let go of my hair and turned around, looking into his eyes.
"How do I look?" I asked, smiling.
"Beautiful" Kita answered, softly smiling back.
My cheeks flushed pink as I hid my face behind my hands.
"Kita, you can't just say something like that suddenly" I whined softly, feeling slightly embarrassed.
I heard him laugh as his hands tried to pry mine away from my face.
"C'mon, let me see yer face, Miya~" he teased, successfully moving my hands away, holding them.
I finally looked into his eyes and we started laughing, leaning our foreheads against each other.
Our laugher eventually died down as we continued to stare into each other's eyes, admiring each other.
Kita smiled as he held my cheek in his hand, caressing my cheek with his thumb.
We leaned in more, stopping just as our noses were touching, lips millimetres away from each other.
I felt his breath on mine as my hands made their way around his neck, leaning in and closing the gap.
Our lips moved in sync in our slow and loving kiss.
We pulled away, trying to catch our breath.
We looked into each other's eyes once again and smiled softly.
.
.
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"Would you like to go on a date with me?"
"I would love to, Kita"