Sakusa POV
(In the Motoya household ~ one hr before party)
I casually sit down at the kitchen table as I watch my cousin, Komori, decorate his house for the farewell party that he's hosting for Haruka.
Balloons and streamers are covering the entire house to the point that my eyes hurt from looking at too many different colors at a single glance. Meanwhile the table is filled with an assortment of food and sweet desserts.
What I find the most unbelievable is the banner that says 'We'll miss you!!!' hanging on the wall. I'm pretty sure Komori is over exaggerating with all this. He already knows that Haruka is still technically in the Tokyo Prefecture but will be attending Fukurodani Academy instead of here. If she really wanted to, she can visit us any time or facetime if she really wanted to.
Just looking at the decorations and him working on all of this makes me tired, he's such a busybody. Not that I'm not, cleaning is necessary, but this on the other hand, not so much.
I felt like Haruka would have been fine with any small farewell gift like knee pads but Komori really went out of his way to prepare this party.
When he invited me over a few hours ago, I just expected some snacks laid out on the table and maybe a few board games out but instead he took the time to do all of this. I didn't expect this much dedication from him.
"Kiyoomi don't just stand there. Help me blow some balloons," Komori pleads again for my help as he exhaustingly blows another balloon.
I put my hand up. "I'm good. I don't want my mouth around that plastic dirty thing," I bluntly tell him and he sighs.
"If you were just going to sit there and watch me. I would've never invited you over so early," Komori admits and I shrug.
"I could come here anytime I want anyways. I'm your cousin," I smirk.
He facepalms himself. "It's hard to believe sometimes."
Ring
Komori's cell phone rings and a text notification appears on the screen.
"Who is it?" Komori asks and I check his cell phone.
"It's captain," I answer.
"Can you check the text for me?" Komori tells me and I swipe the notification then enter his password.
"The whole team is with me, we'll be over in 30 minutes," I read the message aloud.
Komori sighs in relief. "At least the team is going to come here and help—-What are you doing?"
I take out my face mask from my bag. "Getting my face mask ready for when they come over," I tell him and he stares at me with a stupefied look.
"Why?" He asks.
"It's a party, we will be surrounded by too many people. I don't want to get sick," I explain to him like it was a no-brainer.
"It's only the boys and girls volleyball team coming over," Komori tells me with a deadpan look.
I shrug. "You can never be too safe."
"I'm not surprised at this point," Komori mumbles and continues decorating the house again as he tries to make it perfect for today.
I don't understand why he's trying so hard.
Compared to me, Komori has always been one to put his efforts in everything he does so he could achieve in doing his ultimate best. I'm similar to that in the way that I'm the type to not leave things undone but that's because it's a pet peeve of mine to see something finished halfway and incomplete.
My life motto is if you're going to start something then you have to keep going till the end. It would be troublesome to stop in between and not see through it.
I put my hands in my pockets and examine Komori from a distance. We're similar in some ways, but the motivation that he has was always something that I have been lacking.
"Why are you working so hard for this?" I ask and Komori stops what he's doing.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Komori asks, surprised.
"You're basically doing this because you like her right?" I bluntly ask and his cheeks flush bright red.
"H-How did you know?!" He blurts out completely embarrassed.
"Everyone knows about your crush but the girl herself. She's more dense than the earth," I point out. "I don't know why you like her. She's loud and obnoxious," I complain as I imagine her annoying voice ringing into my ears.
"You say that but you're still around her," Komori laughs.
"It's because you drag me with you so it wouldn't just be the two of you alone," I complain.
"Don't say it like," Komori grins. "You would do the same if you found a girl you had a crush on."
"I'm not interested in anyone," I tell him and Komori slightly frowns.
"You must have a type," he suggests and I shake my head. "Oh I know! Someone who can clean their hands perfectly," Komori teases.
A vein pops on my head. "Komori."
"I'm joking. Well knowing you, I don't think you're the one to fall head over heels for any girl, but rather once you get to know them you won't stop thinking about them," he says and I scowl.
"How can you be so confident about saying something so cheesy?" I say in complete disgust.
"I mean you didn't have interest in volleyball when we were younger but now you're known as the number one player in the nation," Komori states all knowingly.
"Those rankings don't matter. Besides, there are times where I find Ushijima to be better than me," I tell him and Komori stares at me with a deadpan look.
"If Ushijima was a girl I'm pretty sure you would go for someone like him," Komori suggests and I glare at him.
"That's gross. Don't ever say something like that again," I tell him completely horrified by the idea.
Komori shrugs. "I just worry about your love life. I don't want you to end up single," Komori says.
I sigh. "Don't be. I don't need to understand romance. It sounds like a pain."
"Haha that's true, but it's worth it!" Komori happily says and I roll my eyes.
I doubt it.
Chiemi POV
(1 hr and 15 minutes later)
"Haruka are you sure this is the right address?" I ask in complete shock as I hold a box of donuts in my hands for the party.
"I believe this is his house," Haruka says as she checks her cellphone for the directions again.
I stare at the large house in disbelief and I couldn't keep my jaw from dropping. There's no way this could be Motoya's house, is he rich??? Or maybe I'm just too poor.
"Yep this is it," Haruka confidently says then rings the doorbell. "Komori it's me, Haruka. Also Chiemi is here too." She says into the intercom.
"Alright I'll be over," Motoya says over the intercom.
The two of us awkwardly stand in front of the door waiting for him to come over and the moment the door opens, my eyes widen seeing all the party decorations.
What the--
"Hey you guys! Everyone is in the living room," Motoya greets then guides us to the living room.
I put my box of donuts on whatever space there was on the table because it was already covered with a bunch of food.
"Hey Chiemi come sit over here," Yukiyo, the second year who recently became volleyball captain, calls me over as she pats a space between her and Sakusa.
I glance over to Haruka, who's sitting down next to Motoya. I sigh. I should let him have an opportunity to be next to her since he's the one who hosted this whole party for Haruka.
I take a seat in between Yukiyo and Sakusa. I could feel Sakusa's uncomfortable gaze at me. My eye slightly twitches. I wish I sat somewhere else.
"So how are we going to start this party Motoya?" One of the members of the boy volleyball team asks.
Motoya takes out his cellphone. "I downloaded this party app. I'm not sure how it works exactly but it had five stars so it must be a good way to start off a party." He says as he opens the app. "I already put down everyone's name. So all you have to do is read the card they give you when it's your turn."
"Hmm... it's still kind of confusing," Haruka says confused.
"That's true but it'll get easier once we go through one round of it," Motoya grins and hands his phone to Haruka. "You can start."
Haruka takes the phone and presses the screen. "Hmmm... I got a dare. Do not talk till one round has been complete if you talk then you have to face a corner for the rest of the game," She reads aloud and her face pales.
"Pffft. How fitting," Sakusa laughs and a vein pops on Haruka's head.
"What the-" Haruka is about to argue but quickly covers her mouth.
"Haha it's only one round so it's not too bad," Motoya says and Haruka passes the phone to him then he presses the screen. "I got a question. What is the first name of the person to your right?" He reads aloud and turns to Sakusa. "It's Kiyoomi."
"You got an easy one Motoya," someone calls out.
"Iizuna is right," Sakusa says and Motoya grins.
"That was just luck Kiyoomi, it's your turn," Motoya says and hands the phone to him.
"I got a never have I question and it applies to everyone here," he says and presses the screen. Sakusa's eyebrow rises as he reads the sentence in his head then sighs. "Whatever." He clears his throat. "Raise your hand if you ever had s-"
Motoya's eyes widen, catching the sentence on his phone and he quickly covers Sakusa's mouth. "Oi Kiyoomi skip that one! Pg-13 let's keep it Pg-13!"
Sakusa stares at him with a skeptical look. "Why are you surprised? Didn't you download the app?"
"I-I did but I didn't think that there would be questions like that!" Motoya stammers.
"What was the question?" I suspiciously ask after seeing their reactions. I take a peek and my eyes widen.
"Huh? What is it Chiemi?" Yukiyo asks and a sweatdrop falls behind the back of my head.
"... It's not that good of a question. We should skip it like he says," I tell her and everyone else.
I did not expect to see that type of question.
"Huh? That makes us only more curious!" One of the boys shouts and everyone nods their heads.
"If you ever had slept for the entire day!" Motoya declares. "Who sleeps all day?!"
Sakusa and I look at him with a blank pitiful gaze.
A sweatdrop falls behind the back of everyone's head as they all raise their hand except for Haruka who probably doesn't sleep but runs around all day with the energy she has.
Sakusa passes the cellphone to me and I take it. "It's a dare." I mumble and press the screen. "...."
"What's the question Chiemi?" Yukiyo asks after seeing me stare Motoya's cell phone for too long.
".... hold hands with the person to your left till it's that person turn again," I read aloud and turn to Sakusa who has a disdainful look on his face.
"Pfft," Komori holds in a laugh but everyone else bursts out laughing, even Haruka was trying to hold in her laughter.
I put my hand out and he turns his head away. My eyebrow twitches. Isn't this guy a germaphobe?
Motoya nudges Sakusa on the elbow. "Come on Sakusa you can hold a girl's hand." He teases and Sakusa clicks his tongue.
"Don't back out!" Someone in the boys volleyball teams shouts.
Sakusa looks at my hand. "Did you wash your hands?" He asks and a vein pops on my head.
This bastard--!
I grab his hand and sinisterly smile. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." I state.
"OHHHH!!!!!" The boys blurt out in shock and the girls gasp.
Sakusa glares at me and clicks his tongue.
The game continues but the questions become more and more ridiculous as time passes. Haruka couldn't handle not talking the entire time and in the end just moped in a corner. Sakusa, on the other hand, quickly let go of my hand the moment it was his turn and went straight into the bathroom for the next 10 minutes washing his hands.
Realizing that that the app he downloaded was a disaster, Motoya decided to change strategies and took out his Nintendo switch for everyone to play.
"Sorry again about that Chiemi," Motoya apologizes. "Sakusa has a sharp tongue and can be rude at times but he's a good guy.
"Why are you the one apologizing Motoya, Sakusa should be the one doing this," I tell him and notice Sakusa watching everyone from the corner of his house.
How annoying.
I walk over towards him. "Hey don't let your friend apologize for you. Besides what did I ever do to you to make you act so haughty towards me," I scold and he glares at me.
"Chiemi it's okay he's always been like that since we were kids so don't worry it's not you. He's like that with everyone," Motoya says and I sigh.
"Are you guys like childhood friends or something?" I ask.
"We're cousins," Motoya smiles and my eyes widen.
"Really?" I question. "You two look nothing alike and your last names aren't even the same."
"We get that a lot and we're related cause our moms are sisters," Motoya explains.
"I see..." I mumble and stare at Sakusa's hands. "You didn't need to wash your hands for 10 minutes. That was inefficient of you."
"Inefficient?" Sakusa repeats.
"If you know how to properly wash your hands. You only need to do it for 20 seconds in warm water with soap. Any longer and your hands will dry. At least that's what I noticed when we held hands," I point out then leave to see what Haruka is doing.
"Wow she told you," Motoya whistles and Sakusa frowns.
"Komori, I'm going up to your room to rest. Don't bother to check up on me," Sakusa says as he puts his hands on his pockets and goes upstairs.
Motoya chuckles. "Aww.. now he's sulking."
I find Haruka playing on the switch with the others and take a seat next to her. "Hope you're enjoying your party Haruka."
"Of course I am. Being with everyone before I move to Fukurodani is all I can ask for," Haruka says then grins. "I know everyone is saying farewell but it really isn't. We'll see each other again anyways. After all, volleyball will bring us together."
A small smile forms on my face. "You're right."
I'll see Haruka again in the future, but we will no longer be teammates but instead rivals. I chuckle. I will treasure these times we had together.