CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
With every day that passed, the Spring High prelims drew closer and closer. For the third years in Seijoh's volleyball team, this was their last chance. Their one last chance to beat Shiratorizawa (and Karasuno) and finally go to the Nationals. The change in the third years was subtle but still visible. Jokes were still made, but all practices happened with utmost seriousness.
This shift in environment always happened before any kind of tournament, but this time it was a lot more serious, Misaki had noted. And she understood exactly why this was so.
'Our last year, huh? One last chance,' Misaki pressed her lips together as she entered the gym with Yuki. 'We can win this. We have to.'
They walked over to the designated manager bench as she and Yuki continued with their conversation. Just as Misaki was about to reply, the gym doors opened abruptly. In an instant, everyone's attention went towards them.
Much to their surprise, it was Kyoutani, the rogue player (as Misaki secretly referred to him), who had just entered, eating what looked to be fried chicken. Yahaba, the first person to notice him, angrily stormed over to him.
"Hey!" Yahaba scolded. "Don't just show up for the first time in forever and act like nothing happened."
Oikawa waved his hands around in his usual flamboyant way. "Now now, calm down. Yahaba." Walking towards Kyoutani, he said, "It's been a while. I've been waiting for you! Welcome back, Kyouken-chan."
Misaki snorted at the nickname, as she stood next to Yuki. The nickname roughly translated meant 'Mad Dog', and at the same time it was also a mix of the said boy's name and surname. A pun only Oikawa could have discovered.
"Who is that?" Yuki whispered to her, as she watched Kyoutani with a curious stare. "I can't remember him from the player's roster."
Just a few feet away from them, Kindaichi voiced the same question. "So who is this 'Kyouken'?"
"A second year called Kentaro Kyoutani," Yahaba explained. " Kyouken is a nickname Oikawa-san came up with. He was pretty famous back in junior high, right?"
"Oh yeah, I remember," Kindaichi said. "Minamisan Junior High was really strong for that one year."
"I think I may have heard of him too," Yuki suddenly spoke. "He probably might have faced off against the team at my junior high."
"He refuses to cooperate even a little," Yahaba continued his explanation, sounding rather annoyed. But Misaki could understand where he was coming from. "But his actual skills are miles better than anyone else in our grade. Right after joining the team, he had a chance to play in a practice match, but he immediately started fighting with the third years. The problem was more how he said it than what he said."
Misaki sighed. That match had not been a fun day and after its end, she had chosen to block it out of her memory.
"His attitude towards the third years didn't change and he eventually stopped showing up."
'Like an idiot,' Misaki added mentally.
Kyoutani looked around, staring at everyone present. "What the hell?" He said, in a low, but casual voice. "There are still third years around? I figured they'd be gone by now after losing in the Inter-High prelims."
Misaki nearly stormed over to him, sleeves all rolled up and full of anger, just like Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa. But Yuki had grabbed onto her arm, preventing her from going over and smacking Kyoutani's big head.
Oikawa, though, didn't seem bothered by it. "You're just as amusing as ever, Kyouken-chan."
"I wish you'd stop calling me by that weird name," Kyoutani said plainly.
" 'Ah, I'm so happy that I got to play on the team while Oikawa-san was still here,'" Oikawa said in a rather casual tone. But his next sentence was said with an intensity Misaki immediately recognized. "That's how I'll make you feel."
Kyoutani tensed up, immediately jumping a few feet away.
'Are his instincts telling him to be wary of Oikawa-senpai?' Yuki thought as she let go of Misaki's arm. 'What a strange person he is. I wonder what type of player he's gonna be.'
(She'd find out soon enough.)
Another day and another practice was over. The two managers were back in the girl's changing room, ready to change back into normal clothes. They had been talking about random stuff when Misaki's phone buzzed, indicating the arrival of a text message.
The moment she saw that the text was from Iwaizumi, Misaki immediately felt like something was wrong. It was almost like the arrival of the text message had triggered her sixth sense for when things went wrong.
"Yuki wait," Misaki said. "I just got a text from Iwa. Give me a second to read it."
"Yeah sure," Yuki answered, coming to a pause near the door of the changing room. She turned around, immediately noticing the look on Misaki's face was rather serious.
Misaki's face fell instantly. 'Oikawa, why...'
It hurt Misaki. The fact that she hadn't noticed what Oikawa was going through. What kind of a girlfriend was she? Hell, what kind of a best friend was she? Not realising his insecurities were beginning to slip through again. Not noticing that the smiles on his face were masks he hid behind. It had happened before and now he was doing it again and she had still failed to notice it. God, it broke her heart.
"Uh Misaki-senpai, what's wrong? Did something happen?" Yuki asked with a soft voice, noticing the sudden distress on her senior's face.
"You're gonna have to go walk home alone today," Misaki sounded solemn. "Or ask Iwaizumi to walk you home. Something important has come up." She grabbed her bag from the chair next to her locker, ignoring the fact that she still had to change back to her normal school uniform.
Yuki suddenly felt very concerned. The way Misaki was acting was rather "Um okay, but if you need my help..."
"I'll manage," Misaki interrupted her. "But thanks for the offer. You take care."
As she walked past Yuki, Misaki squeezed her shoulders. Yuki was a truly kindhearted soul and while in other situations, she would have readily accepted her help; this was a situation she needed to take care of her own.
Misaki practically stormed out of the changing room, rushing down the corridors that would help her arrive at the gym the quickest. All the while, her mind spun with possibilities, scenarios of how she could persuade Oikawa to get out of the gym without escalating things. Because the last time something like this had happened...it burned Misaki's heart to even think about that night. But it wasn't night right now; it was day, almost half an hour before the sunset.
She was going to make sure things were going to be different this time.
In almost no time, Misaki was in front of the gym doors, where Iwaizumi was waiting for her. He had already changed and the look on his face mirrored the look on hers.
"I couldn't convince the idiot to stop," Iwaizumi said harshly, though she knew it was just his way of showing worry. "Will you do it?"
"You don't even have to ask," Misaki said, biting her lip as she heard the sounds of a ball being harshly slammed onto the court. "You should go. I'll take care of him. And if you see Yuki, walk her home, yeah? I don't think she should have to go home alone."
"Yeah, don't worry about her," Iwaizumi said. "I'll walk her home."
"Thanks, Iwa." Nodding at him, Misaki quietly stepped inside the gym, her hands shivering out of nervousness.
Volleyballs were scattered all over the place, a sight all too familiar for her eyes. Oikawa was in the midst of doing another serve. And as always, it landed perfectly on the other side of the net. The loud sound of the ball hitting the floor was often comforting but tonight it felt painful to hear. Misaki set her backpack next to the gym doors and watched with wary eyes.
When Oikawa turned to walk over to the volleyball cart, it was then that he saw her. The expression on his face transformed in a second. There was no way he was letting Misaki see him like this. She shouldn't have to deal with him like this.
"Hello, Misa-chan!" Oikawa said, cringing mentally at the amount of fakeness in his voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you and Yu-chan were going home together."
"Oikawa," Misaki's lips trembled as she walked closer to him. "Stop. Please. Now. You've practiced so hard today. It's enough"
"Not really. It's not." Oikawa, once again, smiled a smile that even he knew was fake. "Just a few more. I'll stop then."
"How many are a few, baby? Two, three or ten? And you can drop that act you're putting on right now. I can see through it."
"What act? I'm just being me, Misa-chan. All I need to do is practice this serve and make it better."
"A serve that's already fine as it is?"
"It's not and you know it," Oikawa turned away. As much as he wanted to believe Misaki, he just wasn't able to. Everytime he thought about his serves, his mind always spun to the imperfections; the same imperfections that had caused their loss against Shiratorizawa in the prefectural finals for the Inter High. Ignoring the heavy stare Misaki was sending his way, Oikawa made his way to the volleyball cart, grabbing another ball. "I just need to make it better."
Misaki clenched her hands at her sides. 'Why can't I get him to stop? Why won't he listen to me?'
Before she realized, her feet moved of their own accord. A second later, she knew what she was going to do.
Meanwhile, Oikawa readied to do another one of his powerful jump serves, dribbling the ball on the floor of the gym. He was not going to be distracted, even if Misaki was right there with him. His serves demanded all his attention right now. He dribbled the ball once last time, but before he could even get into his serving position, Misaki hugged him from behind. The ball slipped from his hand, rolling a few feet away.
"Don't do it, please," Misaki's voice was muffled, but she clearly sounded afraid. "I don't want you to get hurt. Please don't get yourself hurt.. You're perfect, Oikawa. In every way, I can think of."
"Misa-chan, I-"
"I don't care what we do right now, but please just stop practicing. I'm begging you, Oikawa. You're gonna injure yourself. Please just stop." She hugged him more firmly as though trying to convey all that she felt through that one action. With every word of hers, her voice quivered.
Oikawa, reached out to touch her hands, ready to gently push them away, but immediately froze. He looked down at her fingers, clutching at the front of his shirt from behind. They were actually trembling, like she was absolutely frightened. As far as he knew, he had never seen her like this; at least, in his memory, she was always the more courageous one, right alongside Iwaizumi.
'Am I making you-?' Oikawa immediately thought. 'Are you this scared because of me?' He felt his heart clench inside his chest. 'Did I break my promise of not hurting you?'
"Am I hurting you?" He blurted out, before he could stop himself.
"No, god no!" Misaki immediately pulled away and walked around him, now facing him. But Oikawa refused to meet her eyes, instead choosing to look at a point over her shoulders. There was no way he could face her now.
"Will you look at me?" She asked quietly.
"No."
"Oikawa..."
"I said no."
"Oika-"
"Nope."
Misaki let out a frustrated sigh. Getting on her tiptoes, she used both her hands and put them on his cheeks, pulling on them as you would do with a kid. His reaction was instant. Whining in pain, he looked at her and glared.
"Got you to look, didn't I?" She said, a half-smirk on her face, as she returned to a normal standing position. "Now, don't you dare look away or I'll do it again."
Taking a deep breath in, Misaki allowed a sad smile to remain on her face. "You're not hurting me at all, baby. I'm just really worried about you. I don't want you to aggravate your knee before the tournament or worse, get a permanent injury. I mean, when you first got injured, I cried myself to sleep everyday while you were at the hospital, which was just two days, but still..."
"I guess my reasons to get you to stop are a bit selfish," Misaki said, letting out a nervous laugh. "I just don't want to feel like a pathetic loser again like last time. A loser who couldn't do anything to stop you. And if I had, you wouldn't be injured in the first place. But yeah, I just want you to-"
"You're not the one to blame," Oikawa interrupted, grabbing her shoulders. He dropped all signs of pretending; he couldn't do that in front of Misaki anyway. "It's my fault. If I could just perfect my damn serve..."
"Gah, you're really stupid, Oikawa," Misaki said, again sighing with frustration. She grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him down, kissing him harshly.
It was a bit sudden, but it was all Misaki could think of doing. It sounded so horribly cheesy in her head, but everything she couldn't say through words, she'd try and say through this kiss. 'You're perfect. You're perfect at what you do. You're an amazing boyfriend. You're an amazing setter. The best captain of this team. My best friend. You're so good.'
How could a silly kiss make things better, she'd earlier think. But now, being absolutely and completely in love, she had to disagree with what she thought before. She liked to be kissed by Oikawa. She didn't really have words to describe it. All Misaki could really say was that she was just in love.
Impatient and waiting for his response, Misaki was ready to pull away. But Oikawa suddenly wrapped his arms around her, refusing to let go. He tilted his head, gently kissing Misaki's bottom lip, touching it just for a moment. The action made her heart melt and she very nearly lost her mind into the kiss, when she felt the tears hit her cheek.
'Is he crying? Oh god no,' She tried to pull away, to get a better look at his face, but Oikawa put a hand at the back of her head, pushing her back towards the kiss. The tears still fell. And even if Misaki was completely immersed in the experience of being kissed by Tooru Oikawa, there was no way she could stop thinking about his tears. 'Oh fuck, what do I even say to him?'
Suddenly, he pulled away. But before she could get out another word, Oikawa kissed the underside of her jaw and then to her neck. And then, he just buried face into her shoulders, arms still around her and leaning on her for support.
Misaki hugged him back, tracing a circle over his t-shirt. She could still feel his tears; but he wasn't making a single sound. 'Always so good at hiding your emotions...it's just like you,' she silently thought. 'God, you're gonna be the death of me someday.'
"I love you." Oikawa's voice was muffled. It was steady, yet Misaki could feel the gloomy undertone to it. But the words still sent a buzz through her body.
"I love you too," Misaki replied immediately, holding the back of his t-shirt just a little bit tighter. "And I'm proud of you."
"You are?"
Oikawa suddenly moved away, now staring at her head-on. His eyes weren't watery at all, but still were very lightly red. But he looked at her with a hopeful gaze, something that made her melt. Again.
"Always am," Misaki said, smiling warmly. She reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers. "I'll help you clean up this place and then we can go home together. Just you and me."
"Just me and you," He gently squeezed her hand. "I'm grateful that you're here. You really are the best."
"Oh, stop it," Misaki felt her cheeks hit up instantly. She turned away from him, hiding her face. "We should clean up now."
Oikawa let out a hum of acknowledgement. "But first..."
He pulled on Misaki's arm, bringing her to face him again. Without warning, he leaned down and pressed a kiss, but this time to her neck. Misaki froze completely and the blush on her cheeks, coupled with her beautiful red hair, made her almost resemble a tomato. Oikawa giggled, rubbing at his eyes to relieve the itchy feeling left over from his tears. He ruffled her hair, letting out another laugh as he realized Misaki's expressions looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
'I can't thank you enough, Misa-chan' Oikawa silently thought. And he really couldn't. There were not enough words in the world to describe how thankful he was for her being a part of his life and for simply being there for him. There just weren't enough words to describe how much Oikawa was in love with Misaki.
This feeling was going to be everlasting. And to Oikawa, that was all that mattered.
Oikawa: (kisses Misaki on the neck)
Misaki: 😳😳😳
I'm such a sucker for neck kisses,,,like I'd really like my non-existent future boyfriend to do them with me.
I know this chapter was a little on the sad side, but I think I needed some (very) light angst before we move onto the heavy angst (which happens after the Seijoh vs Karasuno match and we all know what happens then 😔😔)
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!