It was normal for Resu to be up at five A.M., stretching before she embarked on her morning jog. Since the school was much larger than Karasuno was, she had no problem reaching the limit she wanted within the school grounds. The tall girl chugged down water, wiping the spare droplets from her mouth.
Ah... I need to make sure I don't get dehydrated, she thought dryly, since I've been crying so damn much.
Resu silently reminded herself to keep a watch on the waterworks. She didn't need anybody thinking she was, well, over emotional. Usually she was able to keep that side of her under wraps, but considering the stress that she had experienced recently it was understandable that she was feeling a little teary-eyed.
She stretched her arms above her head with a yawn. It was around six now she guessed, as the sun was almost high in the sky. Resu returned to the school to take a shower before getting dressed. Considering it was summer, she decided to wear a pair of shorts and a tank top with a thin hoodie over it. Hitomi had been nice enough to drop off the things she would need for the week last night so she had more than enough clothes to choose from.
Resu waited in the kitchen as everybody else began to stir. Tanaka yawned widely as he and Nishinoya sat down beside her. The libero was nearly bouncing in his seat, excited to be served breakfast from the cute managers.
One thing Resu noticed as she placed a forkful of eggs in her mouth was that Asahi was not sitting near her. He was sitting with Daichi and Sugawara, which she supposed was pretty normal. But he didn't even say good morning to her! Somehow, she thought with narrowed eyes as she angrily bit into her toast, this irritated her...although she wasn't really sure why.
The second year then remembered that, perhaps, he was embarrassed about yesterday. He had hugged her for several minutes and he wouldn't stop crying. Resu snickered to herself as she handed in her dishes. She sort of found his awkwardness endearing, in a way.
As the boys headed off to their practice matches Resu decided just to relax for a while in the room all the girls were sharing. She bumped into Yachi on the way out, causing her to drop the plates she was carrying. Resu acted quickly and caught them, sighing in relief considering that would have been an awful mess.
"Th-thank you!" Yachi stuttered out, bowing to her. Resu smiled uncomfortably at the respectful action as she brought the dishes over to the washing station.
"No worries. Do you guys need any help?"
She put her plans to relax by herself on the back burner as she assisted some of the managers with cleaning. It was the least she could do since they had made all the food for everyone. Maybe tomorrow she could help with cooking as well.
Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she bid the girls farewell before retreating from the kitchen. She passed the gym on her way back to her room, pausing for a moment to inspect the games going on. While, as always, the teams impressed her, something about Karasuno seemed strange. Resu noticed that Kageyama and Hinata weren't exactly working well with each other unlike usual. She frowned slightly, making a mental note to ask Shimizu if anything had happened later.
Resu entered the air-conditioned room with a sigh, pulling out a futon to collapse on to. She adjusted herself before pulling out her phone, deciding to catch up on a manga that she had fallen behind on.
After reading a few chapters, she rolled onto her back and gazed up at the ceiling. It hadn't really occurred to her, but since Karasuno was here and not at the nationals obviously meant that they had lost to Aoba Johsai. After doing a bit of searching, she found that Aoba Johsai had lost to Shiratorizawa shortly after, although Oikawa and the other third years had decided to stay behind for the next tournament.
Her arms folded behind her head as a sigh escaped her lips. She was grateful that the third years at Karasuno had decided to stay behind as well. Not only were they great assets to the team, but that also meant that she wouldn't see Asahi as much. That would be a problem.
Resu sat up abruptly, her head spinning from the sudden movement. Why would that be such a problem? Sure, they were good friends, but why did she think that would affect her so much? She let out a hiss as her head fell back onto her pillow. She didn't like this.
The door slid open slowly and a blonde head poked inside. Resu turned to see Yachi, gripping onto the door with a shaky smile.
"Um... Noakui-san, would you mind coming to the store with me?" She asked timidly, fidgeting in place. The shorter girl then suddenly waved her hands in front of herself almost defensively. "I-It's alright if you don't want to though! It's just, everyone else is busy but if you can't I can always find someone else!"
Resu chuckled quietly at the girl's panic before standing.
"Please just call me Resu. And sure, I don't mind. I was getting bored anyways."
Yachi told her as they walked to the store that she had been asked to get some regular supplies, but also a lot of watermelon as a surprise for the boys. Resu felt herself drooling slightly. Watermelon was her favorite fruit and getting such a surplus of it would be great. Her eyelid twitched however as she reminded herself that it was specifically for the boys. Although she would have no problem sneaking off with a piece...
She and Yachi split up at the store to get the things they needed. She was in charge of getting the watermelon since she was able to carry it easier. Placing several of the large fruit in the carriage, Resu made her way to the checkout line. Yachi was nowhere to be seen but Resu assumed she was already done shopping.
Yachi stood on the corner outside the store, rocking back and forth on her heels. Since she only needed to get a few things, she had finished first and was now waiting for Resu. She smiled at an elderly couple that walked past and placed the bags by her feet.
"Hey there, cutie. Need some help carrying those?"
The blonde froze and turned to her right. A group of tall boys, presumably third years, stood by her. They were leering at her, eyeing her like a piece of meat. A chill ran down her spine as she tried to remain calm.
"A-Ah, no, I'm alright, thank you," she replied, gesturing towards the store. "I'm just waiting for s-someone."
One of the boys grabbed her wrist roughly, causing her to wince, as one of the others snatched the bags off the ground. They began to pull her away and Yachi tried digging her heels into the concrete in an attempt to stop them, but it was no use. Luckily, she didn't have to worry for long as a whole watermelon flew over her head and connected with the main boy's face. He let go of her wrist with a yelp and she stumbled backwards, hitting something solid. Without turning around, she could tell who the dark aura belonged to behind her.
The boys looked up in anger, about to respond, before meeting Resu's glare. They shrunk back immediately and then skittered down the street. They both relaxed and Resu walked around her with a grin.
"I can always buy another one, right?"
Her eye darted down to Yachi's wrist and she nearly took off after them, but Yachi assured her she was fine. After buying another watermelon, the two set off back to the school. Yachi glanced at Resu from the corner of her eye, the older girl still fuming about the incident. The blonde smiled widely before quickening her pace to catch up with the second year.
She's a lot nicer than I thought.
-----
Resu carefully cut up slices of watermelon, her eyes focused on the knife. After she had made sure Yachi was settled, she had approached Shimizu about what had happened when she left. She was informed that Hinata and Kageyama actually got into a physical fight over Hinata's desire to advance his skills. Hinata had almost been acting greedy, nearly injuring Asahi to make sure he spiked the ball over.
Her head tilted slightly as she placed the slices on trays. Without her knowing, the team had been advancing further and further. She grimaced as she discarded the scraps into the trash bin.
Everyone's here to better themselves, Resu thought. What am I trying to accomplish here?
With a sigh, she assisted the other managers in passing out the watermelon slices. She had to hold herself back from stealing one after seeing the boys' exhausted faces light up at the trays of fruit. But that didn't stop her from leaning against the wall, semi-hidden by the shadows, glaring at them.
She focused in particular on Asahi, her dark eyes narrowed. The ace held two slices while chatting with Nishinoya and boy, did that piss her off. (Why, she didn't really know.)
Oh, so he's ignoring me, and then he gets two pieces? He doesn't deserve them. If anything, I deserve them. I did a lot today. How come I don't get a piece, huh? I bought the watermelon and I even cut it up. I fucking wasted one throwing it at some asshole on the street. I spent my time carefully picking out those damn melons and here I am, fruitless. Why the fuck -
"Resu?"
Said girl came back to reality with a jolt, glaring at the person in front of her. It was none other than Asahi, still holding two slices.
"What?" She snapped. Resu nearly regretted her tone at his hurt expression.
"I was wondering if you wanted one..." He offered her his other piece with a small smile. She eyed it and hesitated before snatching it from him.
Resu bit into it messily, the juice dripping down her chin. Asahi watched in amusement as she devoured the fruit, her sharp teeth flashing as she chomped down.
"You're disgusting," Tsukishima commented as he passed by, taking a small bite of his own piece. Resu stepped around Asahi to flip him off with both hands, the slice hanging from her mouth.
A minute later, she had finished the watermelon, wiping the juice off with the back of her hand before dunking the rind in the trash. She then spun back to him, an agitated expression clear on her features.
"Why have you been ignoring me?" Resu demanded.
Asahi nearly choked on the watermelon he had been chewing, taking a moment to recollect himself. He thought Resu hadn't even noticed, but clearly she was more perceptive than he thought. Light pink dusted his cheeks as he scratched at the back of his neck anxiously.
"Well, I don't know... I just thought you might think that I was weird after what I did yesterday..."
Resu sighed loudly and rolled her eyes, sitting down on the nearby steps and gesturing for him to join her. He did silently, awaiting her response.
"I don't. It was a pretty normal reaction for someone not seeing their friend after a while. Although I did get a little worried after you didn't stop sobbing after five minutes." He smiled sheepishly as Resu smirked at him.
"If anything..." she started, reaching up to pull back his hairband and let it snap against head, "Your new hairstyle is the weird thing here."
"Ow! ...You really think so?"
She laughed loudly.
"No, I'm only messing with you. I like it."
"I'm glad."
"If I didn't like it, I would've told you straight away. Probably while you were crying your eyes out."
"Resu..."
"Alright, alright, I'll stop now. But you know..."
They were both glad things were back to normal.