insouciant || ON HIATUS

ℂℍ𝔸ℙ𝕋𝔼ℝ 𝟞𝟚

"Hey, hey, where's the Skytree?!"

Mamoru rubbed the sleep from his eyes as Tsukishima snorted. "Didn't get enough sleep, ice king?"

"No."

His blunt answer—with no retaliation of any sort, mind you—seemed to startle Tsukishima, who left him alone after that.

"Is that the Tokyo Tower?!" Hinata's finger pointed at the bright red metal tower in the distance.

"No...that's just a normal transmission tower," Kenma said, baffled. He sidled next to Kuroo, who side-eyes his playstation.

"What the hell?" Kuroo chuckled at the silliness. "You don't have towers in Miyagi?"

"The transmission towers in Tokyo all look like the Tokyo Tower to us country folks," Daichi snapped, easily riled up.

"That's a rash thing to say," Sugawara piped up, sounding tired. "Mamoru-kun's from Tokyo; but besides, this is Saitama."

Mamoru wasn't really listening. Claire always said the sun would rejuvenate you when you were sleepy, but he felt the opposite. If anything, he felt like a sun-warmed cat basking on the sidewalk.

"Hinata!! Did you grow any taller?!"

Like a raging tornado, Haiba Lev ran down the stairs from Shinzen high school and straight in front of Hinata, screeching to a stop.

"That's a pretty rude thing to say," Hinata shouted, looking peeved. "As if I could have grown in two weeks!"

"I grew two millimeters," Lev said proudly, holding his thumb and index close together to get his point across. A shit-eating grin plastered itself on his face.

Mamoru backed away from the two before they could involve him in it. He backed up to where Tanaka, who was chatting with Yamamoto. They entered the gym, where they quickly circled around Ukai.

"We're gonna switch out members constantly this time around," Ukai barked. "Understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

Ukai gave them a scrutinizing look before handing out six yellow bibs. Mamoru blinked at his bib, but donned it quickly and took his place on the court.

Someone served from Fukurodani and Nishinoya received it, sending the ball to Kageyama.

Having been nearby Kageyama, Mamoru heard a frantic muttering of "just drop it off, just drop it off-"

His set ended somewhere in the middle, where the highest point of the ball would go. Hinata gawked at Kageyama, who was furiously staring at his hands.

Kageyama flushed a harsh shade of pink as Tanaka laughed at him from the bench. Mamoru sidled closer, feeling sorry for Kageyama. If his ears turned any redder, smoke was going to start steaming from his head.

"Nice try, Kageyama-kun," Mamoru said gently. Hesitantly, he brought his hands to Kageyama's and clasped them together. He took a deep breath and murmured, "Just relax. It's a practice match. You're doing fine."

He never noticed the seething looks directed at Kageyama, but he did notice the flushed face. Hmm, maybe he was overheating.

The next set Kageyama made was too far. Mamoru made a move to dive for the ball, but to his surprise, Hinata managed to save it with his left arm. Although it didn't have much motion in it, the ball tipped over the net, saving them a point.

"Nice save," Mamoru said quietly when no one spoke up. He flinched at the harsh sound when Hinata's back hit flat on the floor. The wheeze from his rattled chest made him frown in sympathy. That hurt.