Forty Winks | K. Shirabu

┗ 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘏 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘒

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𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘝𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘏 𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘒:
— you don't come with me.

━━━━━━━━

"Go, go, let's go! Let's go, Date Tech!"

The cheer filled the entire stadium - an act that was enough to show that most of the crowd favored the formidable team. It was unequivocally a chant that portrayed a message - a declaration and a challenge - to those within proximity; we'll win this, they chorused.

Mirth settled on her features at the ongoing rally. She almost pitied the ball for not getting the rest it deserved after being smacked multitudinous times back and forth. Her cheek found comfort at the support of her palm - immersion not once taken off the player she found peculiarly good. There was no one seating behind her, so she delighted in standing against the rails with certainty that she wasn't going to be a bother to others. Her bag laid neatly in front of her feet, trapped between the barrier and herself.

Perhaps it was a decision made in the spur of the moment, nonetheless, she didn't try to get the camera from her bag and capture the vivid wonderful plays. If she even blinked or took one look off of the exchange, it felt like she'd miss out on something. The way he seemed to lean slightly more on his right leg at his normal standing posture with the accompaniment of exhaustion, the way he glares at anything in his sight whenever he's in deep thought, the way he furrows his eyebrow when choosing who to set to - she wasn't joking when she dictated to herself that she was going to take all of the information in her mind just by watching.

She didn't need anything else.

Yui knew that it'd make it obvious that she was, with no exaggerations, memorizing the little gestures he makes in reaction to his surroundings if she pulled out a pen, paper, or a phone. Nothing writes as fast as the mind does, too.

His clean form was outstanding. Add accuracy, experience, and more training to that, he'll be invincible before one could even breathe.

The two other individuals, that she assumed were the new recruits, didn't really ignite something within her. They were great, but at the current state they were in, she knew for a fact that they wouldn't stand a chance against players with more practical experience than them. To be faced with unknown techniques and challenged with weapons you didn't know of is when you'll only truly be able to improve.

Nishinoya Yuu and Azumane Asahi; she'll take note of their names for now. The powerful spike from the person she found alluring proved as a reminder - as though he was forcefully taking her attention back again.

"I'd be glad if you stared at me like that."

She wished she didn't have to take her eyes off of the court, but she had to, at least - upon hearing the familiar tone of that voice and the way it screamed amorously to get the things he desires.

"Please stand two meters away from me for safety purposes, Terushima-san." Playing deaf to her words, he visibly took several steps nearer - halting just before he'll make contact with her shoes. "That's inches away - a breach of the rules."

He grinned from ear to ear, blond locks naturally falling to frame his forehead; if he purposely missed the application of hair products, she didn't want to know. His almond eyes came closer, stopping another inch from her face when he bent down slightly to meet at eye level.

When the female's gaze did not waver and so was her disinterest, he leaned back again. "That's not how you greet someone. Did'ya forget what you did last time?"

"I didn't, and I'm planning to do it again if you don't step away right now and stand at least a meter away. Please consider that I'm being nice by the reduction." She gave him a close-eyed smile, her hands gesturing like how she tells Umi, her dog, to shoo away while she prepares the bath.

"You literally gave me that nasty dude's number." He closed his eyes, stepping back in compliance before settling himself half a meter away - in which she almost wanted to hit him for if she didn't suddenly remember the match before them, "At least look at me, will ya?"

Not obeying his words, she replied, "No. Can your match start sooner already?"

His eyebrow twitched at her plain attempt to get rid of him, yet he chuckled through his annoyance - especially at the memory of the conversation he had with the guy she purposely set to talk to him.

"If you give me the right one this time."

He saw her sigh before taking out the phone from her pocket. The grin he wore resurfaced at the thought she finally gave in. He observed her features as she busied herself with the device; the dark blue highlights complementing the light color of her skin ending on her chest, the pair of turquoise blue that demanded his enthrallment the moment they locked eyes - he wasn't planning to let this one go.

On second thought, maybe he will when he saw the screen of her phone extended to his face; her cheeky smile at the background as the words typewritten on the notes section of her phone registered in his mind.

No. <3

Help his soul. He was going to lose his mind at her antics.

"Just kidding. Here you go."

She took a small piece of paper from her bag, along with a pen before scribbling down a few digits and handing it to him.

When the man seemed to have gained himself from that malicious attack, he took the paper within his hand - scanning it to make sure it wasn't any more of those mind-wrecking notes.

To his pleasure, it was a series of numbers.

"You sure this is even yours?"

"No, it's my Mom's."

He honestly didn't know what to expect at this moment. Terushima walked away after giving the paper back to her possession, muttering along the lines of:

"Break up with that asshole already."

When he was no longer in sight, seeming to have regrouped with his team and troubled manager, amusement took over her face. She would've bothered correcting the misunderstanding if he had stayed a bit longer. Yui knew of his existence during the last tournament when he approached her in the exact same way with the exact same words rolling off his pierced tongue.

It was better this way. Now she can thoroughly focus on the match and the player.

She let go of her previous thoughts when a certain pinch server sent a message to know her whereabouts.

Replying mindlessly, her eyes darted over to her number - the familiar series of digits written similarly on the paper she handed earlier.

The corners of her lips curved upwards.

Too bad.

He almost got it.