"Ahh." Hinata Shoyo groans as he wipes the sweat off his forehead.
"When Kageyama-kun once said he'd rather set, spike, receive and toss all by himself, this was what it would probably look like, no?" The tangerine says with an exhausted face as he looks at you. And his setter could only flinched as he recalls the memory of his first year self.
"Why are you bringing that up, boke?!" The setter suddenly says, raising his voice in annoyance. But his spiker was too exhausted to even bicker with him.
"This isn't getting anywhere." The tangerine complains, slumping to the floor.
"Don't say that." You interrupted them and they suddenly stopped short to look at you.
"Are we getting somewhere then, Clara-san?" There was a hint of hope in his eyes as he looks at you and you flat out told him.
"Not really."
"But kids like you should just keep playing and playing." You say.
"And you're just saying all that cause you're hungry." You added before putting out an extra lunch box from your gym bag. "Here, you can have my extra lunch." You say and they looked at you as if a goddess descended to this world.
And from a few distance away, the former players couldn't help but point it out.
"Clara-chan's pretty good at dealing with the monster children." Tendo Satori couldn't help but point it out.
"Ahh. But monsters do always get along with their own kind, don't they?" He realizes.
"But that aside, that's some amazing stamina right there though." Semi sweats nervously as he looks at the odd site.
"I know what you mean."
"Even one set with Karasuno's duo is already exhausting and she's been handling then fairly easy."
"Plus... She's been playing with everyone, right?"
"Not everyone." Semi says and they realized.
Ahh. That's right.
They all collectively agreed as they looked at the professional athlete from a distance.
Ushijima Wakatoshi had a frown in his face, brooding, and his entire mood was as clear as glass.
'Uwaaaa. He really wants to play.'
"He's been like that since earlier?" Semi asks and the others nodded, "Yup."
"He looks like he really wants to play."
"Yeah. But if he does though, the matches would be really long then."
That and the fact that you were already exhausted from dealing with two volleyball idiots. If another one adds up, the alumni wasn't sure if you'd last the entire day.
After all, the sweat clinging on your face didn't lie either.
They watch as Ushijima notices and he immediately brings something along with him. "Towel." The giant says as he greets you and you immediately got up upon hearing him, running towards his direction.
"Goliaaaaath." You groaned as your face bumped on his torso out of exhaustion. He tilts his head slightly as he looks at you in question and asks. "Are you alright?"
You stayed still, confused at whether you would nod or shake your head. You were a competitive little thing after all. And saying you're not alright because of playing too much sounds as if you lost in something.
So even if there was evident frown on your face, you only nod. And the athlete could only pat your head as a response, already knowing the answer.
The kids could only blink at the entire site, Kageyama and Hinata's cheeks were filled with the lunch you've given them as they stare.
Suddenly they could see why the former ace was so attached to you as they looked at the two of you openly flirt with each other.
You were a ball of volleyball reference that also knows how to cook godly meals. It was basically an absolute win.
Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shoyo was very jealous.
—
-
"R-Romero-san!" You hear a familiar voice call you right before training starts and you looked at him, blinking at the boy's awkwardness.
"Ho... how can you can make a receive from a spiked ball into a setup???" the Karasuno setter suddenly asks as you were tidying up. And a momentary silence lingers in the air as you try to remember what Kageyama Tobio was talking about, only for you to realize a few seconds later.
"Ah. You kill the speed instantly with your palms then toss it up. It's easy once you get used to it." You explained what you were always doing all along and their mouths formed a thin line.
'THAT'S NOT EASY TO DO.' The Karasuno setter and his ace both thinks at the same time.
"Ah. It's harder to do with pros' spikes like Ushijima's. But don't worry, you could do it normally with a highschooler's pretty easily." You say carelessly and the two crows only blinks as they stand still.
"Clara-chan, they're highschoolers themselves. too" Tendo suddenly whispers and you jolted up.
"Ahh!" You realized your mistake.
Oh no. You forgot. And here you were, giving them weird advices with your fucked uo standards.
"But... How do you learn to do that, Romero-san?" Kageyama Tobio asks another question and your brain lagged a bit as you try to remember once again. "Ah." You suddenly say before thinking.
"I just... can? That and my fingers are stronger than yours after all." You say and he flinches.
"Can I touch them?" He asks, being curious and competitive at the same time. His spiker immediately notices and also barged in, "Me too! Me too!" Hinata Shoyo says with the same sense of curiosity and competitiveness and you sighed.
"Sure." You say, bored and he does so.
"You're quite excellent when it comes to grooming too, Romero-san."
"Thanks, it's a habit."
"No wonder you could easily hold spikes head on then, Clara-san."
"They're very steady too."
"Thanks." You say again as you stared at them. Sure enough it was already weird for two boys to examine your hand.
But it was even weirder to have another one join in.
"The callouses are even on both hands too." Ushijima Wakatoshi nods as he holds your other hand and the two boys looked at him in surprise as they also realized the same thing now.
"That's a good observation, Ushijima-san."
Ahh this was it. This was probably how Ushijima would act towards you from the very start if you didn't stopped him from talking when you first met him. And you only stayed still as the three volleyball idiots looked like they're already planning a training regime from comparing their hands to yours.
"I take it you're done now?" You asked the boys who only nodded and gave you their thanks. Though you really do wish that you can't read volleyball idiots this easily.
But unfortunately, you can. "You look like you want to say something more?" You asked the setter whose eyes suddenly beamed and you inwardly sighed.
"Ahh! Then there's a play I'd like to do." He says and you groaned.
And you realized one more glaring and frustrating part of your personality.
You:
— is fond of sports idiots
"What is it?" You ask him and he was quick. Kageyama Tobio looks around, as if he's trying to make sure no one else would see what he was about to show you and you wanted to smack him for being so awkward. But he put out his phone and showed you a video.
"Ahh." You mumble as you look at it, the words, 'Romero' not escaping your eyes as you look at the jersey in the video and who was wearing it. It was something your uncle had done on the recent Olympics.
You scoffed at what he was trying to do. It was a bold request— A highschool boy wants to set a ball that would do this kind of professional play. And that already spells out how much ambition he has at the moment.
But if he was going pro, then this enough ambition is already expected. Plus, you were up for it so why not.
"Sure." You shrugged and the setter nods eagerly as thanks and makes his way to the court, that awkward smile not leaving his face. You could only shake your head as you looked at him.
The Karasuno setter closes his eyes, and you grin as you feel the weight of his concentration, the way his blue eyes looked as if it was as calm as the sea.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
"Alright!" Hinata Shoyo says as he throws the ball towards the setter who was ready to toss it up.
The ball left the setter's fingertips, as he tosses it to a direction he had pinpointedly directed, like a perfectly calculated distance.
It happened like an epiphany.
Suddenly, Kageyama Tobio looked like he belonged there— when he sets that ball to you, when he set that ball to an international athlete.
But to think he actually got too excited. His calculated distance wasn't the same as what he envisioned. He clicked his tongue when he made the mistake, the apology ready to leave his lips... until you suddenly adjusted your body mid-air and still managed to hit it like it was an intentional set.
The setter's eyes widened.
It was a player who can make any toss workable, ultimately making it a weapon. It didn't need to have some sort of distance, nor any kind of restriction.
A player who can spike anything, who can do anything.
It was a professional player.
And to think professional players were all supposed to be like this, or not, even stronger.
To be strong... is to be free.
"How... did you become this strong, Romero-san?" The boy's voice is suddenly serious, like asking a question from a senior to a junior, from a mentor to a student, from a player to another.
And you could only give him the most basic fact as to how you really reached the apex at such an early age and how you were there, even until now.
"By playing with professionals."
You say and he beams. "I want to play with them too." he says and you grin.
"That's easy." You told him.
"Then come and be a professional, Tobio." You smirked and a shiver runs into his spine as he breaks out in an excited and awkward smile.
"YES!"
"But yeah, You'll get there, anyway."
"And as for you..." Your voice suddenly shifts as you turned your head towards another boy's direction. A strange chill settles in your voice as your words reverberates on his ears.
"You... You're a little behind, aren't you?" You suddenly ask.
Hinata Shoyo stops short and he looks at you. And from a distance, you could hear him gulp before he nods as he looks at you directly in the eye.