A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Team Bonding

"So, this is the 'Akiyama' you were talking about before?" Oohira asked as the boys all changed back into their formal uniform.

"Yep!" Tendou chirped, very pleased with himself. He had managed to get her to sit and not run away from the bench, but now he needed a plan to entice her to come visit the club more often. Wakatoshi was already talking to her of his own accord -though if Tendou was being honest, he had nothing to do with that progression.

"I feel a little unsure about her though" Shirabu sighed as he shrugged on his white blazer. He was trying to be accepting of her, but he couldn't help but be a little cautious. Something like this had never happened before. Ushijima hadn't even mentioned being interested in anything or anyone non-volleyball related.

"Little Bit is pleasant to talk to." Ushijima closed his locker and looked through his bag to make sure he had everything he needed.

Tendou stopped what he was doing and tilted his head. "Little Bit?"

"Akiyama is Little Bit."

"Uh, a little bit what?" Oohira, like the rest of the members were confused with what Ushijima was trying to say. Did he just not finish his sentence?

Tendou was the first to understand. "It's a nickname." He started cackling. He couldn't help it. The name was so just so ridiculous and awful that it was honestly a crime. He held his sides in an attempt to stop his wheezing. "It's a nickname, pfft" He repeated himself as he hit the ground with his fist, tears coming out the corner of his eyes. "W-why are you, why did you give her a nickname?"

Ushijima looked to Tendou. "In the manga you showed me it seemed to be appropriate to give nicknames to your female friends."

Putting aside the sense of defeat Shirabu felt, he looked at Tendou in horror. Tendou had slipped Ushijima a shoujo manga. Of course, Shirabu himself had never read a shoujo manga but he had heard of their contents. It was all romantic high school drama.

"I don't think 'Little Bit' is a very good choice." Semi furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "Maybe something cuter? If you are keeping with the 'short person' theme, then maybe something like Munchkin?"

While Shirabu still wasn't sure how he felt about the girl, he had to agree with Semi. The nickname 'Little Bit' was absolutely terrible and needed to be changed immediately. He scoffed. "What about Vertically Challenged?"

"Nugget perhaps?" Oohira suggested.

Goshiki gasped. "Sweet Pea!"

"What was wrong with Umeko? Or even Aki?" Kawanishi spoke up unexpectedly, though his face was still unchanged from its mostly neutral state.

"Pipsqueak?" Yamagata put his two cents in now that he had finished changing.

"Chibi? Small bean? Shortcake? Shortstop?" Tendou started rapid firing nicknames trying to find a suitable one. "Jellybean? Doll? Pint Size? Tater Tot?"

Semi zipped up his bag before he spoke. "Bite-Sized sounds really cute and it doesn't sound too far out there to be a nickname either. But there are much cuter nicknames which have nothing to do with height, like Teacup." Semi started feeling sorry for the girl with all the nicknames his teammates came up with. "Why not base it on a different physical trait other than her just being short."

Ushijima thought in silence for what seemed like an eternity as he went through all his options and some of his own. "Ume." He said it a few more times as if testing it on his tongue. "Hm, Ume sounds good."

The rest of the team looked at each other then back at their captain. It was a unanimous decision. Ume was a far better nickname than all the other names they had come up with.