A/N: I am really, really super duper outrageously sorry!!!!! I'm so sorry for only updating now and you guys have no idea how guilty I feel whenever I open wattpad and can't update TT^TT
School has got me all tied up and I the only free time I ever get is a good few minutes... I can't even watch the latest anime *cries hysterically
Anyway, here's the new chapter and like I mentioned in the previous one. This is basically Chapter 8 but Ushijima's side... so yeah (so the whole title for chap 8 and 9 is "all things lost in her eyes" hahaha *forcing creativity hahaha)
For being patient with me, I give you this long fic
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Tension grew in the stadium as the match kept going; the rallies seem endless for both spectator and player alike as the seconds pass. The match between both schools garnering every spectator's attention, all except a certain tall ace. Ushijima's attention was on his left hand, diligently taping up his fingers as he continued to concentrate for the match to come. "So far so good" he thought. For the past few days, he'd been putting in the extra effort to keep his emotions at bay and his thoughts about you locked at some corner of his mind. "Today should be no different," he mumbled to himself while simulating various plays in his mind.
He glanced towards the other side of the stands where the cheering club was staying and he felt thankful that you weren't there despite knowing full well that you should be. "Watch over my kouhai 'mkay?" Ushijima scoffed as he recalled what Benzai told him, feeling 100% sure that at this point in time you were lost somewhere in the stadium. "It's not my obligation to look after her" he said flatly, his voice being drowned out by the cheers of dozens of people as both teams will apparently play up until the third set.
"That's gotta be exhausting. From the looks of it Rakuen Academy will be winning this one, the players at Orudera Junior High look like they won't be able to last the whole third set," Daisuke, the captain of Shiratorizawa VBC, pointed out as he moved away from the hand railing and sat next to Ushijima. Daisuke was a wing spiker, he was tall like all the other members of the club but still he was one of their shortest members. He was able to compensate for his 'short' height with his build and powerful straight spikes making him an exceptional player of the team that everyone that even Ushijima respects.
"Playing up until the third set isn't so bad though" Ushijima replied monotonously as he moved his attention back to the court. "Well, you're from a completely different species and also I hardly doubt anyone could get a rally out of you. You'd just spike the ball whether there's a person to receive it or not and get the point as if it were nothing that even blocking against you is pointless." Daisuke laughed while leaning back against his seat. "I'm counting on you for next year, Captain," Daisuke said while glancing at the tall ace. Ushijima replied with a nod and stood up, "You, as well as the other upperclassmen still have this year, please give it your best until then, Captain," He said and walked away, not feeling any pressure whatsoever from having been given the role as captain by Daisuke for the next school year. Daisuke chuckled lightly "You're right."
***
Ushijima walked the halls of the stadium after a trip to the washroom to freshen up. His path clearing before him as people moved out of his way, as would anyone else after seeing his imposing figure walking towards them. "Our match must be starting soon" Ushijima thought and increased his pace. A certain conversation between two other players caught his attention however, making him stop in his tracks.
"That girl earlier was pretty cute. I wonder what school she goes to"
"Her shirt had Shiratorizawa written on it; maybe she's the team's manager."
"Damn, Shiratorizawa has everything... strong players and cute girls. Should've gotten her number when she asked me for directions"
"But didn't it seem to you that she was kinda out of it?"
"So? I like airheads."
He took a brief glance at the two players and easily deduced who it was they were talking about. "I knew it" he muttered as he looked towards the direction where they came from. In his mind he imagines you walking aimlessly around the stadium not knowing where to go despite asking people for directions. "It's not my responsibility" he flatly reaffirms his own thoughts and tried to hurry back again to his team but was unable to take a step forward. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and after much contemplation, he walked towards where the two players came from. He would often look from left to right, look through each corner that you'd probably fit through until he finally found you standing near a few benches. He let out a sigh and walked towards you, not paying to mind the times you would bang your head against the wall.
His aura became menacing as he went nearer and nearer, a scowl donned his face as his eyes bore an icy glare. With every step he took, he'd recall those times you'd caught him off guard and appear at the worst possible times. He had come to despise you and among all the things you did, he hated the fact that despite his growing irritation towards you he was always unable to voice out anything or act upon his anger. Why is that? Because for reasons unknown, he'd find himself blanking out while letting his mixed up emotions build up even more thereby confusing him to a degree he couldn't handle which led him to act out of his own character; as if he was at your mercy and he did not like it one bit.
His steps got faster as he got closer, his blood began to boil as his eyes gleamed in anger. "Tell her: 'You're a bother,'" he thought repeatedly in his mind as he locked unto your back, your head firmly implanted on the wall. He opened his mouth to speak when he was at a fair distance away from you when all of a sudden you called out his name.
And again, it happened... his mind blanked out, his emotions and heart began to go haywire as the cloud of anger that loomed over him slowly dissipated. "She was thinking of me?" was all that came to his mind as he stood there for a few seconds. He finally managed to open his mouth and asked monotonously "What is it?" catching your attention.
"Help me" you pleaded with a weak voice as you faced him, eyes all big and pleading. The tall ace flinched upon seeing how adorable you looked, like a puppy who has lost its way, then finally seeing its master. His face grew hot and his heart began to beat uncontrollably as he felt electricity flow through every fiber of his being. He averted his gaze from you and began to walk back to where the team is, "Follow me" he said in a forced tone as he tried his best to hide the growing blush that began to spread up to his ears tinting it with a shade of pink. "Damn it" he cursed in silence.
"This is fine, nothing happened, just helping a puppy," Ushijima thought to himself as you both walked in silence. Thankfully, he had finally calmed down after a few deep breaths and despite previous events (him scaring you to death) you were at least brave enough to follow after him (as if you had any other choice though). His gaze remained forward as he kept an open ear to you; listening to the faint footsteps you'd take thanks to your tiny legs and occasionally he'd adjust his pace to meet yours when it'd grew distant.
"U-Ushijima-senpai... ummm... Why are you separated from the others?" he glanced towards you, noticing that you were now walking beside him and he inwardly applauded your bravery despite how transparent your fear of him was. "That's my question" he noticed how the small spark in your eyes seemed to fade making him feel a tad bit guilty. He let out a sigh as he returned his gaze forward "I went to the bathroom, the match before us need to play up until the third set so we still had some time" he said and after that you both remained silent the whole way.
Ushijima felt relieved when he saw the door leading to the stands. "Finally, we're h..." His thoughts were cut off when you suddenly ran off and went inside, leaving him behind. "She really is slow" he thought out loud noting the slow pace in which you ran before following after you. He stood by the entrance and watched you in silence; your lips were tugged into a smile with relief being evident in your face. He shifted his gaze to the court and noticed that the match was coming to an end "I should hurry on back" He thought, but before he could move you suddenly turned around and ran into him, your face bumping into his chest. Ushijima gulped and stood paralyzed as he was at a loss on what to do. Thankfully, you pushed yourself away from him before he could do anything he might possibly regret. Ushijima looked down at you to check if you were okay and he immediately regretted his decision to do so. You were looking up at him with cheeks tinted with a bright red hue and a facial expression that he thought couldn't have looked more adorable "Don't look at me like that..." he thought.
He gave you a quick nod and quickly moved away when your arms retracted from him. He turned around with the thought of hurrying back to his teammates when you suddenly called out to him. He peered over his shoulder to look at you "T-Thank you for helping me also good luck with your match! I... I'll cheer you on!" you yelled at him. Receiving cheers, words of encouragements and pats on the back were practically normal for Ushijima being the ace and all but something about the way you cheered him on left a special feeling within him. He couldn't quite get a grasp on what it was and what caused it. Whether it was your childish smile or the transparency of your fear with the way your body trembled, who knows? But nevertheless, he felt grateful, actually quite ecstatic, he turned around to face you as he hummed in approval whilst nodding, completely unaware of how his facial features softened, his lips slightly tugging upwards flashing you one of his rare smiles. He gave you one last look, making sure to engrave every feature of you right now in his mind before exiting, hurrying on back to his teammates.
Ushijima met up with his team at their designated locker room, receiving a small pep talk from the captain while he changed into his uniform. "Alright, I know this'll be our first match but I want you guys to hold nothing back! Let's show every person in this stadium just who the champions are! Let's dominate this court!" Daisuke yelled encouragingly getting a loud "Osu!" as a response. Daisuke smiled and turned around, walking directly towards the court with his teammates following behind. Cheers filled the air upon their entrance garnering every person's attention unto them. Their heads held up high as they walked proudly towards their bench, the air that surrounded them was enough to intimidate the opposing team as well as the others who were watching the game.
The referee blew the whistle after a couple of minutes of letting both teams warm up, the court fell silent as both teams lined up to pay their respects. Ushijima walked over to his teammates as the referee had both captains decide who was going to serve first by tossing a coin. He briefly glanced up at the stands, feeling his stomach do flips once he got a look on your face. "I'll do my best," he thought to himself, he was never the type who played to impress or played for anyone besides himself and the team but you were the one exception. He wanted your full attention on him and he felt determined to do just that. Their captain returned to them and after receiving another short pep talk from their coach they moved in position.
Silence once again filled the stadium as everyone awaited the referee's signal, apparently Shiratorizawa was serving first. With the blow of the whistle, the ball was served earning the team their first point. The ball was served for the fourth time, this time the ball being received by the other time albeit barely. The opposing team executed a spike only for it to be received perfectly by the captain of Shiratorizawa. Ushijima positioned himself for a spike, running at full speed as his eyes stayed glued on the ball.
He leapt from the ground, not paying to mind the three person block before him as he spiked the ball through them. Everything suddenly went into slow motion, his eyes widened when the usual view from the top wasn't what he saw. He expected to see the court with the opposing team in their positions, the stands filled with people up at the second floor but instead all he saw was an empty court with its storage room open and there was you. You were standing exactly at the edge of the line, your slightly messy hair accentuating your face as you stared at him wide eyed with that innocent look of yours.
The whistle blew and thankfully he was brought back to reality at just the right time or else he would have slipped and fell upon reaching the floor. "What was that?" he stood unmoving for a couple of seconds, his eyes focused on the other side of the court as he constantly blinked, making sure if he was hallucinating or just dreaming. "She should be by the stands..." he turned around whilst looking up, his eyes scanning the stands until he was able to find you there. He watched you intently, feeling relief and adrenaline rush over him when you mouthed what seemed like a compliment. He gave you a quick nod as a response to whatever it was you were trying to tell him but he still couldn't shake off what he experienced earlier. "I must be going crazy... well, as long as I can play I'm sure it won't happen again" he thought to himself as the game went on.
Minutes passed and Shiratorizawa was at their match point and the opposing team had called a time out. "I really must be crazy..." Ushijima thought as he glanced over to the stands, your gaze solely fixated on him. He would be lying if he said he disliked having your attention but having to see mirages of you pop up out of nowhere during the game would often times make him think otherwise. Because of it he would often turn around and try to find you just to make sure if you were still there and not at the court. It drove him somewhat crazy but with the match still in play, he couldn't quite act upon it especially since he was playing as if nothing was wrong. He snapped out of his thoughts when the ref blew the whistle, signalling for the players to get back into position. "It's only for this game anyway. As long as it doesn't last," he quickly concluded, pushing his worries aside for the time being to get his head back in the game.
The game went on as usual, with the opposing team doing everything they could to fight against Shiratorizawa despite the glaring difference in points and ability. With a score of 25-14 and 25-11 in Shiratorizawa's favor, they had won their first match for the prelims.
***
The gymnasium remained silent as the person in charge said the opening remarks for today's match. A few TV crews were scattered around the court trying to get a great angle to film the match, the match that will determine just which team will make it to the nationals. It was officially the finals match for the Miyagi Prefecture Junior High Boys Volleyball Playoffs, Shiratorizawa Junior High against Kitagawa Daiichi.
Ushijima stood alongside his teammates, not at all bothered by the blaring cheers and the TV crews scattered around the court. His face bore its usual impassive expression despite the fire that burned within him. It had been a few weeks since the start of the Prelims and by now he had expected that he'd be free by the bothering hallucinations he'd experience during that first match. But instead, these past few matches the images became more and more vivid and it would occur more often than before, much to his annoyance. The whistle blew and everyone paid their respects. "She's definitely becoming a bother," Ushijima thought as he walked into position, his gaze subconsciously moving towards the stands due to habit. He spotted you sitting a few seats away from the rest but something was different today.
Your attention was elsewhere.
His eyes widened the tiniest bit in surprise. What're you doing? What are you looking at? Why aren't you looking at me? Who is it? What caught your attention? Was my all not enough? And several other questions ran in his mind as he stood still for a couple of seconds, just staring at you. He then followed your gaze, moving his eyes discreetly as he moved into position until it landed on the second year setter, Oikawa Tooru. He took a few deep breaths to get his head back in the game, his eyes on the court before as his soul piercing gaze remained on the Kitagawa Daiichi's setter.
"I'll crush you" he murmured under his breath.
The referee blew the whistle and Oikawa moved to perform a jump serve. Daisuke moved to receive the ball just in time, saving the team from having to lose a point. The team moved unfazed with KitaIchi's powerful serve, the ball was tossed to Ushijima and he spiked the ball, not paying to mind the two person block before him or the libero waiting to receive his spike as he swung his arm at full force and got the team its first point. But once again, the view from the top was different, this time though everything had vanished and all that remained was you on the streets, tears forming at the corner of your eyes as fear was evident in your features. Ushijima felt a pang in his heart as of all the images he had to see of you he just had to be reminded of you close to tears.
That did it.
He landed on the floor, his facial expression as impassive as it can be but his mind was a mess. His usual focus slowly getting derailed from the game and yet it had only started. He felt his blood boil in irritation as the he felt pain in his chest "It's your fault" he thought as he looked towards the stands, his gaze fixated on you. He looked away as he let out a shaky breath. "You're a bother," he muttered and got back into position as he forced himself back into the game.
The game went on with Shiratorizawa winning the first and second set. Ushijima was huddled up alongside his teammates as their coach instructed them on what to do for the next play. Ushijima kept an open ear to the coach while he multitasked on putting his mind back to the game. "Is she a witch? Did she put some kind of curse on me?" he questioned in his mind as he tried to come up with an answer to why everything that transpired kept on happening to him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked up at the stands and once again, your attention was elsewhere. It was one thing to hallucinate in the court but it was another thing to not get your attention. His mind went dark and his eyes got colder despite the heat he felt emanating from his body. "What're you doing?" he thought in anger. He looked away in irritation as you looked back at him. "She's not a bother. She's a pain." he thought.
The match resumed and despite having lost 2 sets KitaIchi never let up and continued to bare their fangs against Shiratorizawa but sadly it wasn't enough against Ushijima. He spiked the ball at full force and broke through the three person block before him; the ball grazing the arm of their setter, Oikawa Tooru, as he failed to receive the ace's spike. Shiratorizawa had won the game with a score of 28-26.
***
"In the end, I couldn't do anything about it" Ushijima muttered with a sigh as he double checked the contents of his bag. Before he realized it, the stands had already cleared and the team bus was already set for departure. Honestly, he couldn't feel more irritated or frustrated in his life, many times had he let opportunities of confrontation pass him and this was the one time he knew he needed to act and yet once again, he missed his chance.
"Alright, did anyone leave anything? If not, then we're good to go Samaro-sensei" Daisuke gave a thumbs-up to their club advisor as he sat back down to his seat. Ushijima let out a deep breath as he leaned back against his seat as the bus was set to depart. He glanced out the window for a moment and what he saw made him suddenly stand from his seat "Sensei, I'm sorry but I think I forgot something" Ushijima said in a hurry. The bus stopped in an instant, everyone barely able to brace themselves for the sudden stop of the moving bus, thankfully Ushijima kept his balance. He got out of the bus and left in a hurry leaving everyone in the bus with a rather confused look "Well, that was new..." Daisuke commented as he and the others watched their second-year ace run off.
***
He stopped by the doors to the court from where they played, his breathing a little ragged from having ran at full speed. "Where is she?" he thought as he looked from left to right, trying to find where you could've gone. "Did I lose her again?" he thought as he peeked inside the gym. His eyes widened as he saw you up at the stands, relief flooded him and he immediately rushed to where you were.
He took a deep breath as he stood in front of the door towards the stands, his stomach in knots as his hands began to tremble. "Am I nervous?" he asked himself as he looked at his trembling hands. It surprised him how someone as small as you could affect him up to this extent and he was yet to see you in person. He clenched his fist and let out a shaky breath "She needs to go" he said as if trying to convince himself. He walked through the entrance and stopped when he noticed that you were in front of him. He watched as you stood up, holding whatever it was he saw you pick up close to you.
"Don't look at me like that," his mind blanking out the tiniest bit as he returned your gaze. A small smile graced your face despite the visible trembling of your hands "Ushijima-senpai... congratu-."
"I can't stand you" he said monotonously as his heart began to beat rapidly, his mind going haywire as every fiber of his being screamed in agony.
He felt miserable as he stood before you, watching as the usual glow your eyes held slowly yet completely disappeared. Those four words he uttered cause this much damage happen before his eyes and never had he felt more confused, hurt, pained. "What have I done? Why did I..." he questioned himself as his mind continued to wrap itself into bundles.
"Eh?" you said in a hushed tone as your lips trembled. Your eyes visibly in pain as you look close to tears and yet no tear ever left them. "I can't stand you" "Don't look at me like that" "... You're a bother" "Please don't look at me like that" He turned around, albeit barely. He looked at you for the last time, feeling his heart get shredded into pieces as you looked back at him, unmoving and visibly emotionally shaken. He walked with shaky feet and he let out a shaky breath as he was at a good distance away from you. He exhaled heavily and began to breathe with difficulty; he placed his hand on his chest and gripped hard on the fabric of his shirt as sweat trickled down his brow. "What did she do to me?" he thought as he continued to regain his breathing.
"Wakatoshi, you okay?" He heard his captain's voice from behind him. He straightened his back and let out a breath. "I'm fine" he turned around and faced his captain, his face back to its usual impassive expression and his voice monotonous with its response. Daisuke eyed the ace suspiciously "Well, let's go... we still have a meeting to attend to"
He leaned against his seat as he looked out the window "This is fine, it's over," he said in an attempt to convince himself.
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A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! I feel happy for finally finishing it today~ (classes were cancelled so...)
Also, I applaud any one of you who noticed where the inserted school name came from
Orudera – Boku no Hero (it's Deku's school before U.A)
Rakuen – this one is different cause I got the name from the title of an anime movie (Rakuen Tsuihou)
Once again, I'm really sorry for updating late and for not replying to comments TT^TT
Sorry @aishaaahariffin and @Ren0025
Thank you guys for being patient with me and I hope you enjoyed this chapter ^^
(I might take a while for the next update, finals are starting so... TT^TT)