Friday afternoon practice was going well. Daichi was grateful for the seeming lack of drama - there had been plenty enough of that for his taste over the past week or so. He knew that exams were looming on the horizon, and that was more than enough to have to deal with at the moment. Hopefully all four of the 'numbskull squad' as he often called them (but only to Suga) would pass all of their exams. This trip to Tokyo was an opportunity he did not want to waste. Having made the decision to stay in the club until the very end, Daichi's need to play at Nationals was intensifying daily. He wasn't too worried about Nishinoya and Tanaka - he knew they could pull it out. Kageyama and Hinata on the other hand...those two he worried about.
At the moment, the team was running a spiking drill. Nakano was setting balls thrown to her by Coach Ukai, allowing both Suga and Kageyama to practice hitting. Nishinoya was receiving, of course, and doing a rather impressive job. Actually, pretty much everyone was doing an amazing job. There were only two things he'd noticed that gave him pause. Tsukishima was doing fine, but not much more than that. Nothing too new there. He also seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time looking at Nakano, but that too was not entirely unusual for him. No, what bothered Daichi was the amount of whispered chatter going on between Suga and Asahi. Asahi was, of course, not the issue. Suga was up to something. Daichi was almost sure of it.
At last Kiyoko declared that everyone had completed the required number of successful hits. The team took a break as Kiyoko and Yachi handed out water bottles and towels. Nakano moved to help, but was stopped by Kiyoko. "Here," she said, handing the girl a water bottle and towel. "Yachi can help me do this. You should catch your breath. It's great that we have so many people to help out now."
"Thanks," Nakano panted, gratefully sinking down and taking a long pull off the water bottle. Someone sat next to her, doing the same. It was Asahi.
"Well, hi there, Ace!" Nakano smiled at him, "Nice spikes!"
"Nice sets!" he responded with a shy smile of his own. "I just wanted to say...uh...I like your new hairstyle." Nakano had chosen to pull her hair up into a ponytail for afternoon practice.
"Thanks! I haven't had my hair this short in a long time. It feels really good."
"I'm curious about something...would you mind taking your hair down for a minute?"
She smiled and undid her ponytail, as Asahi also unbound his hair. She chuckled. "Asahi, are you trying to find out which one of us is longer? Isn't that the kind of thing boys are supposed to do with..."
Asahi turned a bright shade of pink and waved his hands. "No...no...I was just..."
Nakano laughed out loud, shoulder checking the ace. "I'm just teasing. Come on, let's see who's got longer hair." They sat shoulder to shoulder, Asahi bending down so the top of his head was level with Nakano's.
"Wow," Asahi said, holding a little of his hair and her hair in his fingers, "I think I win. Hmmm...maybe I should get my hair cut..."
"Nope," Nakano said, turning to face him. "Don't you dare. I like your hair just the way it is, Ace." She pulled her hair up again, and downed some more water.
The two continued to chat about the team, the upcoming Tokyo trip, exams, and whatever else came into their heads. Tsukishima watched them, clenching his water bottle rather tightly. Since when did Asahi want to spend his break time with her? What the hell is this all about? He stared at the pair for the entire break, a fact that did not go unnoticed by several other people in the room.
Practice continued. Tsukishima watched the ace carefully. He didn't seem to be particularly watching Nakano, as far as he could tell. Tsukishima did, however. He was so focused on the girl, that he didn't notice Asahi walk up to him as things began to wind down.
"Do you like being a middle blocker, Tsukishima?" the ace asked him.
Tsukishima jumped, not realizing that Asahi was so close. "It's fine. I'm tall, so it makes sense that I play that position."
"Do you ever feel like, sometimes, you just don't want to jump?"
"Well, sure. But that's what I'm there to do."
"I bet it's hard to keep jumping when you're faced with an opponent who keeps getting past you, huh?"
"Sometimes." Where is he going with this?
"I find it hard sometimes to keep calling for the ball when I have trouble getting past guys like you," Asahi smiled and put a hand on Tsukishima's shoulder, "But then again, if I don't try, then I'll never know if I can win." He patted Tsukishima's shoulder and walked away.
Tsukishima stared after his senpai. Why do I get the feeling that little exchange actually had nothing to do with volleyball? Tsukishima was feeling thoroughly irritated. The last thing he needed was for the team to be taking an interest in his love life.
Asahi walked over to Suga, looking somewhat sickly. "Am I done now?" he whispered to his friend.
"What's wrong? You did great." Suga patted him on the back. "It wasn't that bad, was it?"
"I just don't want Nakano to get the wrong idea."
"You didn't say or do anything that untoward, Asahi. All you did was make some friendly conversation, just like you've done with her many times before." Suga smiled. "Plus, it seemed to have the desired effect on Tsukishima." Suga nodded in the blonde's direction - he was currently getting Nakano to be his cool down partner for stretches.
"You know, maybe you should just let them figure this out on their own, Suga," Asahi said as the two began their own cool down.
"Oh come on, Asahi, I'm just trying to help my kohais! Seems to me like they need a little encouragement! Well, at least Tsukishima does. I just don't want to see him miss out on a great chance for happiness. I think he could use some."
"If Daichi finds out, he's gonna be mad."
"Well, you're not gonna tell him, because if you do, he'll be mad at you too for going along with me."
The ace broke out in a sweat and shut his mouth. Suga just laughed.
"Listen up, everyone!" Coach Ukai yelled. "I just got a call - I've got to head home. Family business. I'm also gonna need to cancel practice tomorrow. Plan to be here on Sunday same time instead. Everybody okay with that?"
"Yes, sir!" the team sang out.
"Alright! Nice work today, everyone! Daichi, Kiyoko has some notes from me for you to go over before you leave today. Enjoy your day off tomorrow and I'll see you all Sunday!" He jogged quickly out of the gym.
"Hey," Nakano said to Tsukishima, "how about we move up tutoring tomorrow? Would you be okay to start at 10AM? Folding in breaks for lunch and volleyball will give us the best chance to try to keep Kags and Shoyo focused. And the more time we have to work with, the better I think it will go."
"That's fine by me. Are you sure your mom won't mind suddenly needing to make lunch for three additional people?"
"I'm sure she won't," Nakano scoffed, "you have no idea how happy she was when I said I wanted to have some company over that wasn't just Kags. If I asked her to provide each of you with a car she'd probably do it."
He looked at her, curious, as they continued to stretch. "Is it so unusual for you to have company over?"
"Yeah, kinda." She looked rather sad for a moment, but quickly held her head up and smiled.
How strange, he thought. She's so upbeat, I just assumed she had tons of friends. Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen her talking at school with anyone who wasn't on the volleyball team. Even before she'd joined, the only people she'd ever talked to in class beyond what sensei required of her had been him and Yamaguchi.
"Better tell the volleyball idiots about the change of time," he said as he helped her up.
She chuckled, catching up with Kageyama and Hinata as the team gathered around for Daichi's closeout.
🏐🏐🏐
Nakano had been correct, her mom was all too happy to make lunch for her friends. After practice ended, she'd cleaned her room, had dinner, finished up the special surprise for Tsukki for tomorrow, and even checked out her volleyball court and gear. Everything was ready.
The days were long now, and the sky was still light. Sunset would be coming on soon, but she was pretty sure there was still time enough for her to go for a nice run. She dressed in workout gear, grabbed her phone, told her mom she'd be back soon, and started out to run through her neighborhood.
Not far along she realized she'd forgotten her headphones. I guess I could go back, she thought, ugh, I just don't feel like it. Music isn't helping much these days anyway. It all reminds me of him.
Nakano had taken to exercising more in the days since she'd so abruptly let Tsukishima know how she felt. When she was exhausted, she slept better, and thought less. Well, one good thing about all this, she thought, I'm really making good progress on conditioning my legs. She chuckled to herself. Her doc had been pretty amazed at how quickly she'd begun progressing. "Volleyball clearly agrees with you," he'd said.
Well, he's not wrong. I'm so glad to be back on the court, at least somewhat.
Her thoughts wandered back to Tsukki, as they did so often these days. She'd meant what she'd said - he could take as much time as he wanted to give her an answer. But the wait was torture. It had been at least a week now. She forced herself to stop counting days early on - it would drive her mad. But she was sure it had been at least a week. Longer maybe? It felt longer.
They continued to interact as friends, for which she was both deeply grateful and terribly sad. She wanted to be more, but she really didn't want to be less. So she did what she had been doing so well for more than three years - held her head up, smiled, and kept going. She was really good at it by now. She didn't think anyone would be able to tell just how much she was really feeling inside - not even Tobio-chan. Part of her wanted to share what she was feeling with him, but that was just too risky. Tobio and Tsukki already didn't get along very well, and if Tobio thought that Tsukki was hurting her in some way, well, he'd likely go ballistic.
Besides, Tsukki wasn't hurting her - not deliberately anyway. She knew he had to be pretty confused. He's not one to let people in easily, she thought, and I basically went ahead and pushed my way in, literally. She recalled the sweet taste of his mouth. She felt a pleasant heat start to flow through her. Dammit, girl, think about something else.
As if in response to this thought, her eyes focused on the word 'Tsukishima' written on the house in front of her. She stopped, staring in confusion. Wait, she thought, I must have run down his street without even thinking. This must be his house.
She stood in the growing twilight, looking at his house. It seemed to match his personality, somehow. Neat, and orderly. The garden was clearly well tended. She could hear guitar music coming from an open window. She looked up, walking along to see if she could spot the musician.
Her eyes widened when she saw him. It was Tsukki, sitting next to the open window in what she assumed was his room, playing guitar. She dropped down beside the hedges, trying to watch him without being seen. He was playing something familiar...
"On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair..."
Her mouth dropped open as she heard his warm, vibrant tenor voice. It was raw, untrained, and stunning.
"Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air"
Hotel California, huh Tsukki? An excellent choice. I knew you had to like old school music. How do you know the Eagles but not Metallica? She smiled to herself.
"Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway;
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself,
'This could be Heaven or this could be Hell'
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor,
I thought I heard them say...Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year
You can find it here"
She was completely entranced. Unconsciously, she began to hum along with his beautiful music.
"Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
So I called up the Captain,
'Please bring me my wine'
He said, 'We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine'"
It was one of her favorite songs, she listened to it all the time. Without even thinking about it, she harmonized with him on the next line.
"And still those voices are calling from far away,"
It sounded wonderful to her. Her eyes closed and she allowed the music to carry her along.
"Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say..."
She sang with him again on the chorus, harmonizing and taking the echo part.
"Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis"
Her eyes flew open as she realized that if she could hear him, he might be able to hear her. She looked up, but he seemed oblivious. His eyes were closed, feeling his music. I should go, she thought, but she couldn't tear herself away from the private concert.
"Mirrors on the ceiling,
The pink champagne on ice
And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device'
And in the master's chambers,
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives,
But they just can't kill the beast
Last thing I remember, I was
Running for the door
I had to find the passage back
To the place I was before
'Relax,' said the night man,
'We are programmed to receive.
You can check-out any time you like,
But you can never leave!'
He gently improvised some closing chords. Nakano suddenly realized she was holding her breath, and let it out slowly. Her legs were aching from being in an awkward position for so long. She looked down at them, trying to shift herself to be more comfortable. When she looked up again, the window was closed, and Tsukki was gone.
She got up, stretching a bit. Her legs were shaky now, she'd have to walk back to her house. Fortunately, it was only a block away. Twilight was ending, soon the sky would be fully dark. She took one last glance at Tsukki's window before starting off. Damn, she thought, he may not be so good at sorting out his feelings, but boy, could he play guitar.
Another realization hit her. Crap, she thought, I think I just fell for him even more.
🏐🏐🏐
Nakano's mother had words for her when she got back, but she mostly shrugged it off. She was fine. Her mother always worried too much, and about the wrong things. She apologized for worrying her and gave her a hug. That seemed to appease her. She went to her room to care for her legs, and try to get some sleep.
Her phone went off just as she was settling down.
My Big Bro 🤗
We're still on for 10AM tomorrow, right?
Queen Setter 🏐
You bet. I'm all ready for you guys.
My Big Bro 🤗
You sure?
Queen Setter 🏐
What's that supposed to mean? 😏
My Big Bro 🤗
Well, I seem to recall the last time you tried to tutor me in something we almost killed each other.
Queen Setter 🏐
LOL It wasn't that bad.
My Big Bro 🤗
I remember you yelling I am so gonna kill you at one point...
Queen Setter 🏐
But this time Tsukki and Shoyo will be there! I'm sure that will make everything better!
My Big Bro 🤗
Was that sarcasm or are you just delusional?
Queen Setter 🏐
Dude, your enthusiasm for this event is just infectious.
My Big Bro 🤗
Seriously though are you gonna be okay?
Queen Setter 🏐
Why wouldn't I be?
My Big Bro 🤗
He still hasn't answered you, has he?
Queen Setter 🏐
Not something you need to worry about Tobio-chan. He can take as long as he wants.
My Big Bro 🤗
Are you okay? If he's hurting you, tell me and he's dead.
Queen Setter 🏐
TOBIO! He's not hurting me. It's not his fault. I dropped this on him in front of everyone with no warning. He deserves all the time he wants to sort it all out.
My Big Bro 🤗
Yeah, I thought that was a rather Oikawa move on your part.
Queen Setter 🏐
OW! Now that hurt me.
My Big Bro 🤗
Sorry. But you know I'm not wrong.
Queen Setter 🏐
Well, there was one major difference. Shittykawa would do that kind of thing but have absolutely no real emotion behind it. He'd do that just to get to someone. I'd never do that. I meant it, dammit. Tobio, he makes me feel happy. I feel like he understands me somehow. I don't even know why I feel like that. I just do. I really, really like him Tobio.
My Big Bro 🤗
Dang I think that's the longest text I've ever seen.
Queen Setter 🏐
LOL Sorry.
My Big Bro 🤗
Don't be. It's about time you let out some real emotion regarding this. Don't feel like you need to keep it all in, okay? I'm here if you need someone - even if you need to talk about Shittyshima.
Queen Setter 🏐
I know. Thanks Tobio-chan.
My Big Bro 🤗
That's what big brothers are for. 🤗
Queen Setter 🏐
LOL Goodnight Tobio-chan. See ya tomorrow.
My Big Bro 🤗
Night Naka-chan.
She smiled. Tobio really does love me like his very own sister. No matter how things go with Tsukki, Tobio will be there. That's a very comforting thought.
She hadn't felt that kind of comfort in long time.