strawberry pocky | tsukishima kei [SLOW UPDATES]

my own person

i know y'all don't wanna hear me apologizing for taking long to update again 😭😭 just know junior year is hard AF, and I'm taking some APs so I'm extremely busy. let's just get on with it.  Also Tsukki and Yams are kinda out of character in this chapter, but I needed it to be that way so drama could happen hehehe

Being the latest writer for the Karasuno High School Gazette did wonders to both your mood and social life. You now had not only an outlet for creativity and a way to express yourself but a new way to make friends. Your first piece, which, ironically, had been about the girl's volleyball team, got your name recognized by a good portion of the school's students, which subsequently increased your popularity. It felt good, even exhilarating, to have friends that you had made for yourself, instead of just hanging around with Yamaguchi or Shoyo's friends. It felt good to have a special thing you were good at. You were finally beginning to feel like your own person, instead of just "the girl that hangs around Tsukishima and Yamaguchi."

It was, for lack of a better word, awesome.

It was lunchtime and you poked your head into 1-5's classroom to see if Hitoka was there. Her blond hair didn't immediately catch your eye, so you looked around the room to see if she was in the corner. She wasn't around. Instead, your new friend Inoue from the school newspaper came running up to the door. "You looking for Yachi?" he asked, seeing the searching expression on your face.

"Hi!" you greeted him, grinning. "Yes, I am."

"Hm...I think she's in the bathroom, actually."

"Oh...okay, I'll just wait here for her to get back if that's alright."

"That's perfectly okay," he said, smiling kindly. "In fact, I wanted to ask you how the school newspaper is going. Do you like it so far? Your first piece was great, by the way. I know I already told you, but I just wanted to say it again."

You returned his smile and felt a little bashful at his compliment. Tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear, you replied, "Thank you! Everything's been great so far. Everyone's really nice. I'm really glad you convinced me to join."

"Well, we love having you," he told you sincerely. By "we", he really meant, "I", but he found it slightly too forward for him to say such a thing.

Still feeling embarrassed at how forward he was with compliments, you awkwardly replied, "I love being had by you!" What the fuck, f/n? That literally made no sense, you thought to yourself, slightly mortified at how a simple compliment had made you sound like an idiot. Luckily, you made a smooth recovery: "Oops, sorry. I guess my writing abilities don't exactly translate into my speaking abilities," you chuckled.

"It's no problem. I understood what you meant," he said with a kind smile on his face. "Hey, listen, I was thinking...since you're new to the newspaper, if you ever need some help with writing your pieces or coming up with ideas for what to write about, you should come talk to me!"

"That's so nice of you! But aren't you the photographer?" you asked, a little perplexed. You were flattered, but also confused at his extreme eagerness to help you. Or was it really extreme? Were you so accustomed to inconsiderate people like Tsukishima that you didn't know what a genuinely nice person would do? Or were you just overthinking it, like everything else?

You had no idea.

"I have some writing experience, too. And I know this great cafe we could go to. It has such a great atmosphere for studying and writing, there's a nice fireplace and everything. So if you ever need help, I'm happy to provide it."

Was he...hitting on you?

Nah, he's still just being friendly. Tsukishima went to a café with you, too, and it wasn't romantic at all, you said to yourself, growing uncomfortable at the memory of you and Tsukishima's impromptu café "date", especially since at the time you had definitely perceived it as the beginnings of a romantic relationship. You certainly weren't going to make such a mistake again.