It's finally the end of the school day. Shiratorizawa is a throng of students who are eager to head home or go out with friends. Kiyo's grabbing a snack from the vending machine and I'm waiting for her so we can head to the team's practice together.
"Hana, I need your help."
"Is the machine not working?"
"No, it's working just fine." She takes her box of Pocky and we start walking away, shoes tapping.
"Well..." She starts entwining her fingers into each other while looking down at the packet, a pink tint flooding her cheeks.
"Who is it?" I say, I know exactly what she means. I've only seen Kiyo like this once, all fluttery and flustered. It was our first year, and she had a crush on a boy.
"Who's who?"
"The lucky guy that has you blushing this way."
Her eyes widens, I catch her.
"Yamagata," she admits. She refers to him so fondly. His name is Hayato Yamagata, the team's third year Libero.
I stop walking and so does she. I turn to her, lightly resting my hands on her shoulders.
"Don't worry, I'll help you ask him out."
"But how'd you know?"
"I see the way you look at him," I laugh.
She gives me a huge hug as she takes a deep breath, "You just get me."
I pull away, meeting her gaze.
"It's a full-time job."
We start walking again.
"Tell me a bit about him."
The conversation progresses sweetly. The gym doors are now a couple feet ahead.
"Okay. Kiyo, stay calm like normal. Don't give hints. Why don't you pull Yamagata outside during the last fifteen minutes of practice and talk to him?"
She nods happily.
It's as clear as day that Kiyo really loves him. They're the teasing pair. She would tease his hair and he would laugh, never teasing her back in fear of hurting her feelings. They would talk about subjects and she would help, a pair that understood each other.
You could tell as soon as you looked into her eyes. The way her pupils dilated at his mention, her finger a mess, the way she looked and talked to him. I've never been happier for Kiyo, truly.
The last relationship she was in didn't end on a good note, at all. That cold night, it ended with her completely destroyed. Crying on my shoulder, telling me about how he'd ended their relationship over the phone with no remorse.
I really hope Yamagata is a good person.
Originally, practice goes by pretty slow. Nevertheless, it goes by faster than usual because of me and Kiyo's esteemed plan. Before I knew it, the sun is cooling and she gives me the signal. It's a sign to distract the coaches.
She goes outside followed by Yamagata as planned. I head over to them.
"Coach Akira, Kiyo has an emergency, so she's leaving for a few minutes. She was about to group up the team and discuss their weaknesses and improvements. She wants you to take over."
"I've been meaning to do that myself, perfect timing." He gives a thumbs-up.
He gathers the team with his whistle and a few claps.
"Shirabu, you've got great stamina. You need to work on your strength."
He glances at the paper. "It says here you need to do spiking drills."
He tightens the finger tape around his ring finger, nodding briefly. His hair looks the same, not messy like the rest.
"Nakamura has been working on her handwriting, it seems," he mumbles.
"Go ahead and set for each other, Semi. You have the same drill. Your speed is great, keep it up!"
Semi and Shirabu begin their drill.
As Coach Akira is talking, I stand next to him. I notice Ushijima looking a bit confused. After he finishes, Ushijima comes to put a stop to his confusion.
"Takahashi, did you write those notes?" He says, as blunt as usual but with a hint of confusion this time.
That's when I see Yamagata rapidly walking in with his head down. He's red and smiling.
"Yamagata, come here! You need to start your drill," Coach Akira calls to him.
Kiyo slowly walks in with a hand on her cheek. I can tell from afar that she is as red as a ripe tomato.
"Maybe," I smile, feeling a bit more successful than I should.
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Author: Very proud of this chapter 👏👏