Ogawa Nakano knew something was going on.
It was Monday, and they were back at school again after a fantastic weekend. More than that, it was the week of the qualifiers. Nakano expected to feel on edge, tense, charged up and ready.
That wasn't what was bugging her. Something else was going on.
The day had started out normal enough. She'd walked to school with Tsukki, meeting up with Yamaguchi on the way. The three had chatted as they often did, catching up with Nishinoya on their way in to Karasuno. That had been the first odd thing, though Nakano had thought nothing of it at the time. She hadn't even particularly thought it strange when she saw Kiyoko standing and waiting for her by her locker. After all, Nakano had borrowed one of the books of notes Kiyoko kept on the team, to review as she planned for their final practices before qualifiers began later in the week. Kiyoko had stayed and chatted while Nakano had gotten into her locker and gotten ready for the day.
No, the first time she thought something was odd was when she'd asked sensei for permission to go to the bathroom. Yachi had come crashing into the ladies' room a minute or two later, chuckling nervously about how funny it was that they'd had to go to the bathroom at the same time.
And if that wasn't enough, when the two girls emerged from the restroom, there was Sugawara, a third year, walking past them in the first year hallway carrying a stack of papers and looking purposeful. He greeted them cheerfully as he went by. Suga was an expert at camouflage, misdirection, and sneaking around. But coupled with Yachi's all-too-nervous and hurried arrival in the ladies' room and her attempt at a surreptitious nod to their silver-haired senpai? No doubt. This was no coincidence. Something was definitely going on.
And now, Nakano was watchful.
Daichi and Kageyama randomly joined them for lunch. Asahi happened to be passing by as Nakano went to her locker in the middle of the day. When sensei had asked Nakano to go to the teacher's lounge to deliver a message to one of the other teachers, Ennoshita came wandering by, trying his hardest to look casual but clearly gasping as if he'd just broken a land speed record running to reach the area.
Nakano was starting to get a little irritated. Why was the team clearly keeping an eye on her? There was only one reason she could think of. Had Kei lied to her? The very idea left a cold pit in the girl's stomach.
She caught Tsukki's eyes as she returned to the classroom after running her errand. He looked at her fondly, but his expression quickly became concerned as he took in her features. She glared at him pointedly, but his answering look held only confusion and distress. She sighed and relaxed a little, she was pretty sure that he had no idea what was going on. She gave him a look meant to ease his mind and he relaxed a little, jutting his chin at the clock to indicate they'd talk later. She nodded.
That left only one possibility.
At the end of the day, Tsukishima moved to Nakano immediately, intent on asking her what was bothering her, but the barest shake of her head stopped him as Yamaguchi joined them, ready to go to practice. The trio went about the usual routine, Nakano going to change with the other girls as the boys headed into their changing room.
Nakano and Yachi were the last two to enter the gym for practice. Based on Yachi's reactions to a few vaguely worded questions, Nakano was now certain what had happened. What she really wanted to know was why. But that was going to have to wait until after practice - she wasn't about to take any of their few remaining hours for something like this.
"It's blocking drills today, boys! Finish up your warm-ups and let's get started!" Nakano called out, trying to keep her voice from sounding as angry as she was feeling.
Tsukishima noticed. He tried to catch the girl's eye, but she turned away towards the benches. She spotted a box sitting open on one of them. "Hey...anyone know what this box is..." she called out, moving to look inside of it.
"NAKA-CHAN NO!" Tanaka called out, running over and pushing the girl aside, knocking the box off the bench. Empty water bottles clattered out of the box all over the floor, and Tanaka turned a deep shade of red.
Nakano, meanwhile, had landed on her butt on the floor, and was now positively furious.
Kei had run over to the girl to help her up, but stopped short when he caught sight of her face. He'd never, ever seen her look this angry before. She got to her feet on her own, her hands clenched into fists.
"I...I'm sorry," Tanaka said, "I thought it might have been..." He trailed off as Nakano turned eyes filled with cold fury on Yamaguchi.
"Why?" she said to him through clenched teeth.
"Naka-chan, please, let me explain..." Yamaguchi began, his face pale.
"I asked you not to tell them, Yamaguchi." Nakano's words were like spears, and Yamaguchi flinched as each one pierced him through. "You promised me you wouldn't say anything, so they wouldn't have to deal with this before the qualifiers."
The room was silent for a moment. Everyone else on the team looked back and forth between the pinch server and their coach. Nakano was controlling her anger, trying hard not to completely lose it and make things worse.
Yamaguchi's fear and anger got the better of him. He exploded.
"DAMMIT NAKA-CHAN, SHE CAME AT YOU WITH SCISSORS!" the boy screamed at her, his pale skin suddenly going flush with rage of his own. "All weekend! All weekend I was terrified thinking about what might happen today! And I finally realized that we were wrong to let you just shrug this off! It was too late to go to the principal, so I went to the team. Even if you won't report it, I'll be damned if I'm going to sit by and do nothing and wait until one of them actually hurts you! So yes, I told the team! I never promised you I wouldn't! And I don't regret it if it keeps you safe!" Huge tears were running down Yamaguchi's cheeks, and his body was shaking with the release of all his pent-up emotions.
Nakano's face had morphed from anger to shock to guilt during Yamaguchi's outburst. She was at the boy's side in the space of a few heartbeats, catching up her friend in a hug. "I'm sorry, Yams," she said, her voice now rough with tears of her own. "I didn't think about how this might affect you, and that was so wrong of me. I'm so, so sorry. Please forgive me, Tadashi. I was such an idiot." The two friends cried on each other, each gasping for breath.
Sugawara came up to them, wrapping his arms around both teens. "You were both trying to protect each other, in a way," he said rubbing them both on the back, "Can you see that? You both came at this from a place of caring about the other people around you."
The two nodded, both laughing a little, and then laughing more at the realization that they were both laughing. "Naka-chan, I'm sorry. I just...was so afraid those girls would do something even more awful to you," Tadashi said.
"I know, Yams. And I was so worried about this becoming too much of a distraction before qualifiers. Looks like I only made it worse, especially for you. I'm so sorry, everyone. This is my fault." Nakano looked positively miserable.
"It's not your fault, Naka-chan! It's those stupid girls in your class! Don't take any blame for their actions!" Yachi said loudly as the boys around her nodded.
"Of course, maybe trying to make sure you were never alone wasn't the best way to go about protecting you..." Tadashi admitted with a wry grin.
Nakano chuckled. "Ya think?"
"Tadashi, do you think I'm an idiot?" Tsukishima asked his friend, "Because believe me, I'm not. I'm not going to let those...people..." the sneer he placed on that word set several of the boys to snickering, "...hurt Naka-chan. Ever."
"Nakano, you also need to trust us. I know you were only trying to keep us from feeling more stress, but you can see how well that worked out," Daichi paused as Nakano hung her head. "Don't feel guilty. What's done is done, and it's all out in the open now. We're here for you, Nakano, just like you're here for us. Right guys?"
"RIGHT!" the team yelled as one.
Daichi clapped his hands. "Alright, from now on, we keep our eyes open, but we keep our focus on the opponent in front of us. Let's change it up today, guys. I think a run will help us all clear our heads, and we'll do drills when we get back. Stretch out, grab some water, and be ready in ten!"
Tsukishima just shook his head as he watched his best friend and his girlfriend apologize to each other again. Well, this explains what she was so upset about before, he mused. He began to stretch out, preparing for the run. As Nakano joined him, an embarrassed smile on her lips, he couldn't help but grin at her. My life will certainly never be boring with you in it, he thought, taking the girl's hands to help her stretch as well.
🏐🏐🏐
Nakano sat on one of the benches in the gym, breathing deeply to recover from their run. She'd stuck with Yams and Tsukki the entire time, she and Yams talking it all out and completely clearing the air between them while Tsukki confined his participation to a fair number of tongue clicks and the occasional semi-sarcastic comment. So...basically everything was back to normal. Nakano smiled as she stretched out, waiting for the two boys to return from the bathroom.
Suddenly, a water bottle presented itself in front of her face. She took the bottle, looking up to see Kageyama settling down on the bench next to her, scrubbing at his face with a towel. "I was really angry with you, you know," he said casually.
"What?" Her face registered total shock.
"Someone threatens you with a pair of scissors and you don't even tell me about it? I'm your best friend, Nakano. What the heck?"
The blonde sighed. "I'm sorry, Tobio-chan. I just...I didn't want you guys thinking about something like that instead of being focused on the qualifiers." Nakano took a long pull from the water bottle. "I hope you're not still mad."
"Nah," the setter replied, "I was only mad for a few minutes, because like I told Yamaguchi, that is so entirely in character for you it's almost funny. Only you could get attacked by your jackass boyfriend's crazy fangirls and be more worried about how your team will take it than for your own safety."
Nakano laughed aloud. "First of all, do not call those stupid twits fangirls - it makes Kei sound like Oikawa, and he is completely the opposite of that egotistical maniac. Second, it's really giving Sakata too much credit to call that lame-ass lunge at me while holding a pair of scissors an attack. If I hadn't been able to stop that, I'd have deserved whatever I got!"
"Just do me a favor and quit hiding things from us, okay? Especially from me. You're not a burden, Naka-chan. You never could be." He held out a fist, offering a best-friend hug.
Nakano started at his words, blushing, but quickly recovered and completed their little ritual with enthusiasm. "I'm sorry, Tobio-chan," she whispered to him again.
"We all love you, Naka-chan," he whispered back, "Especially me. And most especially your jerk of a boyfriend." Nakano couldn't help but giggle - Kageyama had noticed the same thing she had. Tsukki was keeping his distance, watching while trying not to look like he was watching, knowing his girlfriend and her best friend needed a little time together.
"So," Kageyama said conversationally, taking another pull from his water bottle, "it sounds like you guys had a great weekend with Kuroo-san." He smirked at the girl. "How drunk did you all get?"
"Kags!" she cried, trying to look offended, while he just kept smirking. "Alright, we did get kinda drunk on Friday night. Kuroo made some really good sake sangria, but man did it sort of sneak up on us all. It was fun though!"
"What happened?"
"We played Never Have I Ever, which kinda sealed our fates in the getting drunk department. Then we all wound up in a cuddle pile - well, everyone except Lev and Kenma. They'd both fallen asleep. And then we capped that off by watching some shojo anime."
"So even Hinata got drunk?"
"Oh no, Shoyo didn't arrive until Saturday." Nakano stifled a chuckle as Kageyama seemed to be a little saddened at that revelation. "However, Hinata did get up to some shenanigans at the concert. Did he tell you he danced all night with a girl he met at the club?"
"What?"
"Mhmmm. And he met her by tripping and smushing his face right into her chest. They were pretty much inseparable after that," Nakano said with a leer, watching Kageyama's face carefully.
Kageyama looked...irritated.
"So you're telling me he's hooked up with some girl in Tokyo?"
"Well, I mean, they didn't go home together or anything, so I wouldn't exactly call it hooking up, but..."
Kageyama was on his feet, pointing at his tangerine-haired volleyball partner. "OI! DUMBASS! GET OVER HERE!" Nakano covered her mouth with her hand as Kageyama moved to confront the tiny decoy.
Tsukishima wandered up to Nakano. "Woah...is this what it looks like? Is the King jealous?"
The couple watched as Hinata made his way over to his setter. "Is it true? Do you have a girlfriend in Tokyo now?" Kageyama accused the boy.
Hinata flinched at Kageyama's angry glare. "Wha? Uh...no! I mean, I met a girl, but I..."
Kageyama chopped the ginger on top of his head, causing him to yelp in pain. "No way! You can't be running off to Tokyo every weekend because of some dumb girl! We've got Nationals to think about!" Kageyama continued his tirade as Nishinoya and Tanaka came over, also yelling, attracted by the juicy topic.
"Kageyama! Please, let me explain! It's not like that!" Hinata yelled, trying to shield his head from the dark-haired boy's continued attacks.
Nakano and Tsukishima looked at one another, and burst into laughter.
"Volleyball idiots," Tsukki said, sitting down next to his girl, pulling her close.
🏐🏐🏐
The next day, Tsukishima and Nakano left afternoon volleyball practice promptly, headed for a quick dinner and then to their final practice with the Kaji Wild Dogs. Over the last couple of months, Kei had practiced with them fairly regularly, with Nakano accompanying him more than half the time.
And now, with the qualifiers starting in just a couple of days, this would be their last chance to work with Akiteru's team. The couple had set goals for themselves when they'd started training with the Wild Dogs. Kei, naturally, wanted to shut Akaizawa down completely. Nakano had told him this was an unrealistic goal, and the boy had grudgingly changed his plan to being able to stop Akaizawa around half the time. Nakano knew from the look on his face when he'd said it, however, that in his heart the goal had not changed. He wanted to shut the older man out completely, if he could.
Nakano, on the other hand, had been amazed at how quickly the Wild Dogs had adapted to her serves. Her goal was to get at least three service aces in a game with them. She'd been working her serves extra on her home court whenever she could, hoping to be able to complete that goal. Just like Tsukishima had not yet been able to completely shut Akaizawa down, Nakano had been able to get two service aces in a game, but not yet three.
Tonight was their last shot.
Akiteru greeted the couple warmly as usual, hip checking his brother and whispering "Akaizawa has talked about nothing but you two since arriving. He's apparently looking forward to this evening's practice a great deal."
The couple exchanged a look. They owed a lot to the older man - he'd pushed them both to become better players. But sometimes...
"Well there's the volleyball power couple. L'il Bro 'Shima and his girl. I want you both on the other side of the net from me today so I can put you both away in your last practice with us," the older man cackled.
"I wonder if he even knows I have a name," Nakano said, rolling her eyes.
Tsukishima was busy taping up his fingers carefully, knowing he could not afford an injury so close to the qualifiers. He snorted. "At least he hasn't invented a name for you. I was really hoping L'il Bro 'Shima would disappear eventually. No such luck. And the worst part is...I don't think I'll be able to block him entirely tonight. I've never even come close before."
Nakano checked over his taping, nodding her approval of his work. "Kei, I told you when you said it the first time, it's a foolish goal. It's almost impossible to shut out a heavy hitter like Akaizawa. But you don't have to. Block him when you can, trick him when you can, and when all else fails, narrow his options so he takes the shots we want him to take. You can do this, Kei. I know you can." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, hoping it would go unnoticed.
It didn't.
"Awww, does L'il Bro 'Shima need a kiss from his girl to get ready for the total beatdown he's about to face?" Akaizawa taunted the middle blocker. "Don't worry, I'm sure she'll still love you even when you both completely lose today! Come on, kids, let's get this over with!"
Nakano and Kei both rolled their eyes, looked at one another and nodded. The Wild Dogs had set themselves up on both sides of the net, with two places open on Akiteru's side - one for a middle blocker and one for a setter. After a quick huddle to talk a little strategy, the game got underway.
Like most of the games the couple had played with the Wild Dogs, the match was intense, and close, right from the get go. Tsukishima focused on playing the best he could, using every trick in the book to keep Akaizawa from scoring. He knew the only way to make this work was to focus on the play happening in front of him, and not on the idea of trying to shut out Akaizawa. The blonde tried to put the idea out of his head, and play hard.
The game was going well, and soon it was Nakano's turn to serve. Kei readied himself, wanting to turn back and watch her, but knowing he couldn't lose focus. He heard her deep breaths, felt the tension when the whistle blew and Nakano took almost the full eight seconds she was allowed to serve.
He didn't really see the serve, or even the ball's impact on the floor on the other side of the net.
But he heard it. It sounded very familiar. He remembered that sound all too well.
It sounded like Oikawa's serve.
Nakano had placed the ball in the far left corner, just barely inside the line. First service ace.
There were calls and mutterings on the opposite side of the net. The men readied themselves for the girl's second serve.
Nakano knew aiming for the same spot would be a mistake. She chose the middle of the back line, just to the right of the fellow in the center. Once again, the sound reminded Tsukishima of the girl's ex-boyfriend as she scored her second ace against the opposing team.
"What the heck are you doing back there?!" Akaizawa yelled from the net at his teammates. "That's two she put over on you! You'd better not give her the satisfaction of three, or her head won't fit through the door at the end of the night!"
This time, Nakano aimed directly for the player in the back left corner.
His receive went wild, the ball flying off across the gym to slam against the far wall.
Nakano's cry of exultation came from deep within her, her fist pumping in the air. Her eyes connected with Kei's as he grinned at her. A badass personal moment, he thought, just like Bokuto-san talked about. She's got to be feeling so good right now. Someday...it will be my turn.
Nakano ended up scoring a total of five service aces against their opponents that evening. Tsukishima was full of pride, and played that much harder, trying to match the dedication of his talented girlfriend. At that point, all he knew was that he didn't want her five service aces to go to waste. He wanted their side to win.
And they did, taking the match 25-23, 28-30, and 25-20.
As things began to wind down, many of the Wild Dogs, including Akiteru, complimented both Nakano and Tsukishima on their playing. The two teens felt exhausted, but also rather proud of themselves for being able to play so well with a group of adult players. Akaizawa approached them as they began to gather their gear to head out with Akiteru.
"Nice serves, girl," he said to Nakano, "you've definitely gotten more powerful over the last couple of months."
"Thank you, Akaizawa-san," Nakano said, smiling, "I've worked hard, and I guess it payed off."
"It always does." He turned to Tsukishima. "But you deserve the most credit for that win tonight."
Tsukishima looked at the older man in confusion. "What do you mean, sir? Nakano scored five..."
"Yeah, I know," he said, "but you stopped way more than five points for my side. Didn't you notice that?"
"He's right Tsukki," Nakano said, "you were really amazing tonight."
Akaizawa scoffed. "You didn't notice it either, did you? Well, I guess that's for the best, actually. If you'd been focusing on that, it never would have happened."
The two teens looked at the man in total confusion. "I'm sorry, Akaizawa-san, but I don't..." Tsukki began.
"I didn't score on you once all night," Akaizawa said to Kei.
The blonde boy just blinked in shock, and then stared at the man.
"Every time I went against you, you either blocked me, or you managed to get a one-touch, or even when I did get by you, you had someone right there, ready to receive." Kei was still gaping at the man. "I scored points tonight, but not one of them was off you, Tsukishima-kun."
Nakano hugged her boyfriend enthusiastically. "You did it! Awesome work, Tsukki!"
Tsukishima smiled at hearing the man acknowledge him by name, but wondered why it still didn't feel like a victory. It felt good, knowing he'd been able to stop Akaizawa, and every time he'd successfully blocked the older man he'd given him a gloating smirk, but something about it still wasn't right. It didn't have that feeling he was hoping for, the rush that seemed to come for everyone else. I'm proud of myself, but this isn't where I want that to happen, he mused. I'm glad I achieved my goal, but let's face it, the stakes here are low. I want to do this when it counts. When the penalty for failing to measure up is going home for the season. That's when it really matters. That's when I'll know if I can ever love volleyball the way she does. This is a stepping stone to that moment.
Tsukishima disengaged from Nakano and bowed to the older man. "Thank you, Akaizawa-san. I've learned a lot from you these past couple of months."
"As have I," Nakano echoed, also bowing to the gentleman.
Akaizawa waved them off. "Yeah, yeah. At least you weren't boring. Now get outta here, I'm tired and I want to go home."
The two teens chuckled softly to themselves, gathering up their gear and heading for the door where Akiteru was waiting for them.
"Hey Ogawa-chan!"
Nakano looked back at Akaizawa, shocked at hearing her name from him.
"Make sure you lead those boys all the way, alright? I'm looking forward to seeing your team at Nationals." Akaizawa gave the girl a grin.
"Yes, sir!"
🏐🏐🏐
It was Wednesday, October 24th.
Ogawa Tanjiro was coming home today.
Nakano had been thoroughly distracted the entire day. Tsukishima had never seen the girl so completely brain-dead. She'd not been able to pay attention at all in class, almost earning detention from sensei. She completely forgot to meet Kageyama for lunch. The raven-haired setter had finally gone to Class 1-4 to look for her, only to have Tsukishima and Yamaguchi tell him that she'd left their room almost 15 minutes ago. Now slightly panicked, the three boys spent most of their lunch period searching for the girl, finally locating her wandering around aimlessly in the chill air of the main courtyard of the school.
At practice, Nakano was worse than distracted - she was a downright hazard. She kept completely spacing out, staring at nothing, muttering to herself. After the third time Nakano nearly got hit with a ball (Yamaguchi had managed to push her out of the way at the last second), Daichi finally called her on it.
"Naka-chan, is everything alright? I've never seen you like this before," the captain looked at the girl with concern in his eyes.
"I...I'm so sorry, Captain! I'll do better! I promise, sir, I..." Nakano stammered out.
Tsukishima rolled his eyes, and addressed his senpai. "She's not going to be able to concentrate, Captain. Her father comes home today."
Nakano's blush was deep and seemed to spread all the way down from her hair to her socks. The boys crowded around, excited for the girl and full of questions.
"Hey, that's right! That's great, Naka-chan!"
"Wow...how long has it been since you've seen him?"
"Congratulations!"
"Is he gonna come watch the qualifiers?"
Shoyo had asked this last, naturally, and it brought Tsukishima up short. Would he come watch his daughter's team? Holy crap, the blonde thought, I'm not sure I'm ready to meet Ogawa-san for the first time at a qualifying match. That might be a little more pressure than I really need to deal with. Damn, how do tell her about this without making Nakano feel like I don't want her father there? I know how important he is to her.
"He's been deployed since March, and I can't wait to see him! I don't know if he'll come to the games, Shoyo - he's usually pretty exhausted when he first gets home. It takes him a little while to readjust, you know?" Nakano replied. The she suddenly recovered herself and bowed to her team. "Still, that's no excuse for me being so out of it! I'm so sorry! I promise, I'll stay focused from here on out!"
Daichi chuckled, leading the team over to the white board. "No you won't. I don't think you can, Naka-chan. And you know what? You don't need to. Let's go over a few things and wrap it up for tonight. Everyone needs to have a good dinner, then go to bed early and get plenty of rest." As the team settled down on the floor, Daichi put his arm around his student coach. "Are you going to be able to focus tomorrow?" he asked the girl.
Nakano gave him a fierce smile. "Absolutely, Daichi-san. You can count on me. I got this."
The captain chuckled. "I know we can count on you, Naka-chan," he pushed her gently in the direction of Coach Ukai and Takeda. "Can you please tell them what's happening? Let's do our wrap up and get you home so you can welcome your dad back properly."
"Thanks, Cap," Nakano replied before running off to get their coach and their teacher.
Less than an hour later, Tsukishima was walking his very distracted girlfriend home. He squeezed her tightly around her shoulders as they drew closer to her house. The girl had spent most of the walk home babbling about her father and all the things she was looking forward to telling him and doing with him - including properly introducing him to her beloved boyfriend.
"Hey, Naka-chan?" Tsukki began softly.
"Hmmm?" the girl hummed in reply.
"So...how likely is it that your dad would want to come to the qualifiers?"
Nakano looked fondly at her blonde boyfriend. "Are you asking because you really want him to come...or you're really hoping he won't come?"
Kei's eyes went wide. "Please let me explain, Roses..."
"You don't have to, Kei. I can't imagine the prospect of having to play in these high-stakes matches with your girlfriend's dad watching you from the stands, especially when you've not properly met him yet, is a very pleasant one." She chuckled. "I wasn't actually planning to invite him. Now, if he asks, I'll convince him to skip it."
"You don't have to do that, Roses. I know how important he is to you, and this is a chance for him to see you coach..."
Nakano giggled. "Watching me coach is not exactly a fascinating thing, gorgeous. Seriously, Kei, as your coach - even if I've been a completely brain-dead one today - I know that having him there would not be helpful. I'm sure he'll get to see you play - after he meets you in somewhat less stressful circumstances."
Kei chuckled. "I think no matter when I meet him, I'm going to be feeling some stress."
The couple laughed together. "Seriously, though, Dad is usually pretty messed up for about a week after coming home. It takes him some time to adjust to sleeping at home again, and until he does, he's kind of tired and a little cranky. I doubt he'll want to go to the games. And if he does, well, he'll understand. He's a volleyball player too, you know."
Kei stopped them from walking, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend and kissing her forehead. "Thanks, Roses. I love you so much."
"I love you too. And you shouldn't be stressing about meeting my dad. He already likes you. Everything's going to be fine."
"So, you think it might be a week before we're all able to get together?"
"Maybe. It'll really be up to Dad." They resumed their walk towards home.
"Will he be home all the time? Or does he go to a base or something?"
"He's home most of the time. Sometimes he has to go in for meetings and such. He'll report to the ship a fair bit before they put back out again, though."
"How long will he be home?"
Nakano sighed. "Never long enough. I'm hoping he won't have to go back until March, but, well, we won't know for sure until the orders come. But I don't want to think about that now - he's not even home yet!"
"What time do you expect him?"
Nakano laughed again. "Well, he told mom to make dinner for three, but be sure it was something that reheats well. Which means he's going to try for dinnertime but it won't entirely be up to him."
"Amalie's not coming home?"
"She is, but she can't get away until the weekend. I think she's cut a few too many classes already this term," Nakano said with a grin.
They had reached the Ogawa residence, and Kei took the girl in his arms again. "Text me later?"
She kissed him sweetly. "You bet, love. Take good care of yourself tonight, okay? Eat well, get plenty of rest. And be ready to kick ass tomorrow."
The boy scoffed lightly. "Okay, Coach." He kissed the girl in farewell. "Tell your dad welcome home from me, okay? See you in the morning."
"I will! Goodnight, Kei!" Nakano stood on the doorstep, watching her boyfriend until she could no longer see him.
Once Kei was out of sight, Nakano let herself in the house, calling out to her mom. "In the kitchen!" came ringing from inside, and Nakano made her way there.
Nakano found her mom in the kitchen, cooking up one of her dad's favorite meals. She suppressed a grin as she took in her mom's appearance - dressed casually but accessorized nicely, her hair styled up, her makeup fresh and natural looking. She'd obviously been home a while and taken the time to prepare for her husband's arrival. A sudden thought struck the girl. I get kind of out of sorts when Kei and I don't get to spend time together for a few days, she thought, and yet, my parents have probably spent more time apart than together during their marriage. How do they handle that? It's got to have been so hard on them sometimes. Nakano felt a pang of guilt as her mom flashed her a huge smile. All these years, I've thought only about how hard it was for me not having Dad here, she realized, I never stopped to think about how much harder it must have been for Mom.
"Hi, honey! Are you excited? I sure am!" her mom enthused, making the girl chuckle. "Come help me with the cooking, will you?"
"Sure, Mom. Just let me put my things in my room and change, okay?"
Nakano soon returned, and the ladies spent the next little while cooking and chatting and sharing their excitement over the impending arrival of Ogawa Tanjiro. Emiko began talking about the many things she wanted them all to do while he was home, teasing her daughter about having to bring her boyfriend by again to present himself to her father.
"Naka-chan, what's the chance that you can maybe stay home from school tomorrow? I know I shouldn't ask that, but it will be the first time we can all be home together for a whole day..."
"Mom, I can't. The qualifiers start tomorrow. The team will be headed into Sendai for matches, remember?"
"Oh! Oh my gosh I completely forgot. I'm sorry, Nakano. I know you said those games are really important - your dad coming home has driven everything else out of my mind."
Nakano looked at her mother with eyes full of emotion. "Mom?"
"Yeah, honey?"
"Were you angry, when Dad took my side? When he agreed with me that I needed to try to get my legs working again?"
Emiko dropped the knife she was using to prepare the beef. "What?" she whispered.
"When Dad decided to find me new doctors so I could have my surgery - were you angry? I know you thought I should have just accepted what had happened to me, and, well...I wondered if maybe you were mad that I..."
Emiko came quickly around the kitchen counter, grabbing her younger daughter into a tight hug. "Naka-chan, how could you think that? How could I be angry that you wanted to try to walk again? I just...the doctors had been so insistent that..." Nakano could hear her mother's voice beginning to tremble. "You'd been so hurt...I didn't want to see you go through any more pain!"
"I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry I couldn't do what you asked. I'm sorry I made you go through all this. But I just couldn't live that way."
Emiko fought against her sobs, trying hard to regain her composure. "No, no, no. Don't be sorry for being you, Naka-chan. You're...incredibly brave. You and your dad have always been so much stronger than I am. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you the way you needed me."
"Mom, if you weren't angry, how come you never come to my therapy sessions?"
Emiko caught her breath, looking at her daughter. Nakano's face was calm, with only a hint of tears in her eyes. But those eyes were very earnest. Emiko sighed. "Oh Naka-chan, is that what you thought? That I stayed away because I was angry?" She stroked her daughter's strawberry blonde hair. "The truth is, Naka-chan, I stayed away because...I couldn't handle it. Watching you struggle, seeing the pain you were in...do you remember, I came to one of your sessions once?" The girl nodded. "Remember how I left suddenly? Well, I left because I had to run outside and throw up, Nakano. I...I couldn't bear it...I'm so sorry, honey. Please forgive me."
Nakano gave her mother a small smile. "There's nothing to forgive, Mom. If anything, I'm the one who needs you to forgive me. You see, I..." Nakano's composure began to crack. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I've been...talking with Kei about...a lot of things." Despite her best efforts, tears began to well up in her eyes. "He's...he's made me realize I've been very unfair to so many people...but most especially you. I...I let you bear the brunt of my anger. Even though it wasn't your fault." The tears in Nakano's eyes began to run down her face, as Emiko stared at her daughter, her face registering shock. She tried to speak, to tell Nakano she didn't have to explain anything, but the girl held up a hand to stop her. "Mom, please, let me say it. Let me finish. Because...you see...I convinced myself you were mad at me for demanding my own way. And if you were mad at me, then I was justified in being mad at you." Nakano's emotions suddenly burst from her, having been walled away from her family for too long. "I was so angry! And when you kept telling me I had to accept what had happened and learn to live in a wheelchair, well, it became easy to be angry at you! To make you the target for all the rage I felt over what had happened to me! And there was so much of it...and I'm so sorry because you didn't deserve any of it. You were doing the best you could and I poured all that anger out at you and Ama-nee...but mostly at you. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Nakano was crying in earnest now, body shaking as her mother held her.
"Naka-chan, it's okay. What happened to you was so unfair. And...and...I didn't know what to do. I tried to follow the advice of the doctors, but...well...you had every right to be angry at me. I couldn't see how badly you needed to push forward, even if the chances were slim. I'm so sorry, honey." Emiko's tears were flowing now as well.
"But I hurt you, Mom. I hurt you for things that you had no control over. And all you were doing was what you thought was best for me. Kei made me realize I'd never stopped to think about how you were feeling, what was happening to you. I was so caught up in my own anger and resentment and pain that the fact that I was hurting you never even registered on my mind. And I don't want to do that, Mom. Because...I...I love you!" Nakano buried her face in her mother's shoulder, crying so hard she could no longer speak.
"I love you, sweetheart. I'm sorry I wasn't there as you struggled through so much. I...guess...I didn't think you wanted me there. So I stayed away. It..it was easier for me, and I guess we're both good at convincing ourselves of things, because I convinced myself that you didn't want me or need me there, so it was better if I just left you alone. And that was so wrong of me, Naka-chan. You deserved to have your mother there when you needed someone, and I...I...didn't...I..." Emiko broke down completely at last, the two ladies sobbing against one another so intensively that they were not at all aware of the presence of another person, standing quietly in the doorway, watching the scene with a look of mingled shock and relief on his face.
"Guess I'm more like you than I thought, Mom," Nakano said, making both of them chuckle through tears. "But now, I'd like to try to maybe do better, huh? Maybe we could get better at this?"
"Oh Nakano, you bet we can! Of course we can! Oh honey, once everything settles, I am going to cook a hell of a meal for your Kei-chan, because I think we owe him so much!"
"I know I do, Mom. Look, there's going to be a lot to talk about. It's going to take some time. But I'd like to try to understand you better, and maybe you can start to understand me a little more? Little by little, though, okay?"
"Okay, sweetheart," Emiko said, still clinging to her daughter. "Goodness, we'd better get back to cooking, or your father's going to be very disappointed in us when he gets here!"
Suddenly, the two ladies felt a strong pair of arms wrap around them both, keeping them in a tight hug. "How about we just go out to eat, huh, my beautiful girls?"
Ogawa Tanjiro was home at last.
🏐🏐🏐
Tsukishima was still awake in his bed. His room was dark, but the blonde found he just wasn't ready to close his eyes. The Crow VB group chat was still occasionally buzzing, but honestly it had mostly wound down for the night, the usual pre-game jitters manifesting themselves in silly memes and people renaming people and general goofiness. Everyone had been on...even Tsukishima had texted a time or two.
Everyone but Nakano.
It was understandable, of course. She hadn't seen her dad in seven months. She deserved this time to just be with family. The only mention of Nakano on the group chat was people hoping that she was having a good time catching up with her dad. But we missed her on there tonight, Kei thought, maybe that's why the team hasn't quite gone silent yet.
Another Crow VB notification went off. Tsukki sighed, checking it once again.
Pretty Crow Coach
He's home! Thanks you guys for understanding!
Yams
Glad he made it safe and sound!
Idiot
You bet Naka-chan!
O Captain My Captain
Glad you were able to jump on here tonight, Nakano. It wasn't quite the same without you.
Pretty Crow Coach
My dad says that he's looking forward to meeting you all and he's especially looking forward to seeing us play at Nationals.
Narita
Does that mean he's not coming tomorrow?
Tangerine Head
Oh man! I was hoping he would!
Pretty Crow Coach
He's pretty exhausted right now guys. But he'd love to come see us practice, if that's okay, Cap.
O Captain My Captain
Anytime Nakano. He'd be most welcome.
Salty Ass Middle Blocker
You do realize her dad played volleyball in high school too, right?
Bakayama
He's basically telling us he expects us to win.
Pretty Crow Coach
Yep. So you guys better be getting some sleep. We've got a game to win tomorrow.
Tsukishima knew something else was up. He didn't know how he knew, but he was absolutely certain. Ignoring the remaining group chat notifications, he opened up his conversation with Nakano.
Kei
Roses, is everything okay?
Roses
LOL How do you always know?
Kei
What happened?
Roses
I don't know why, but for some reason, my brain chose today to ask my mom about how she felt when Dad took my side and helped me find new doctors.
Kei
Wow. What did she say?
Roses
You were right, love. She wasn't mad. I think she was scared. I'm not sure she's entirely ready to admit that yet. We talked for a little while, and agreed that it's going to take some time for us to talk it all out. But we started.
Kei
How are you feeling, beautiful?
Roses
Tired. Happy. A little overwhelmed. He's home, Kei. And for the first time since the accident, my mom and I talked about how we feel about things. About how we feel about each other. What a hell of a day this has been!
Kei
But overall, it was a good day, right?
Roses
Yeah. A great day. And you made it possible.
Kei
Me?
Roses
If it hadn't been for you, I never would have talked to my mom. My dad would never have come home to find the two of us actually crying on each other. Actually talking it out. He was so happy, Kei. You were so right about so much. I've been hurting my family so badly in the name of trying not to hurt them. So thank you, love. Thank you so much for being you and for being there for me.
Kei
I love you, Roses.
Roses
I love you so much!
Kei
I want to come see you right now. I want to hold you.
Roses
Oh Kei, any other night I'd say yes. But as your coach, I can't approve of that happening this late. We both need sleep. We need to be at our best tomorrow.
Kei
I'd be mad at my coach except I love her too much.
Roses
Call me please, love.
A nervous shiver ran prickly fingers down Tsukishima's spine as he pressed the dial button.
"Hi, love," Nakano said as she answered his call.
"Roses, what's wrong?"
"Remember that night a while ago, when you needed me to talk to you to help you get to sleep?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you do that for me tonight? Please?"
The chills of dread Tsukishima had been feeling suddenly disappeared in the warmth of his love for the beautiful girl on the phone. His smile was audible in his voice as he spoke to her, encouraging her to settle down and prepare for sleep, safe in the knowledge that he loved her very much and that they would be together again tomorrow morning.