The Half-assed Prince

Valentine's Day

After all the unpleasant things that Mei-chan had said to the volleyball team, Ukai-san still let her watch their practice as long as she would promise to keep her mouth shut the whole time. She did what she was told. She never booed Tanaka anymore and she tried not to shout even when Kei or Kei's team scored. Because of her efforts, she was now a "regular" visitor of the volleyball team.

She was also starting to show some interest in volleyball: it seemed like she wasn't coming to the gym everyday just to watch Kei anymore, but also to learn this particular sport. In a way, Shimizu-senpai and I were grateful that she was around. Being the class president, I didn't have much time to visit them, and Shimizu-senpai was also busy with her studies. We were glad that even if neither of us was around, we could rest assured that the team was still in good hands.

After helping Mei-chan find a way to stay in the gym, my relationship with her got better. We even started calling each other by our first names. She was the first to call me "Akira-san", and I could still remember how she stuttered, probably embarrassed, when she first pronounced my name. Even though she still hated to see Kei and I together, somehow she finally acknowledged me as Kei's girlfriend.

Her relationship with the other members got better too. After apologizing to Nishinoya and Tanaka, they were now like buddies. They really got along, although it didn't surprise me since they were really similar. But was surprising to me was that Mei-chan and Kageyama were actually getting along with each other pretty well. Her interest in learning volleyball lead to them becoming friends. I would catch them sometimes talking in a corner about volleyball (I presumed), but I could see that they were enjoying each other's company. It was rare to see Kageyama talking to others, let alone a girl.

Kei's peaceful days were finally back. Mei-chan stopped bothering him. She also stopped clinging to him, which I was glad for, of course, but it still irritated me each time she called him "Kei-chan". That was probably the reason why I called her "Mei-chan" instead of "Mei-san". But as always, she wouldn't let Kei and I to stay alone together.

I hardly slept last night. It was already past midnight when I went into bed. Making homemade chocolates wasn't that easy, especially when you'd be doing them for a whole team. Mom offered to help me but I told her that I would do it alone. I wanted the chocolates to be special.

My mouth was wide open as I yawned when I got to school. I was wiping the tears that formed in my eyes when someone suddenly slapped my back. I immediately turned around to see who it was, but a part of me was hoping that it was Kei.

"Ohayo, Akira!" Nishinoya greeted me. He looked different. I always pictured him as one half of the stupid duo together with Tanaka, but now he looked kinda... cool? Maybe it was his hair that was perfectly ruffled upwards (I could smell the gel that he used to style his hair) or maybe it was the tiny tuft of hair that fell over his forehead. Despite of his height he gave off an overwhelming aura, as if he was tallest guy in the world.

"Ohayo, Nishinoya-senpai," I greeted back.

I noticed him glancing at my bag, but then he turned around and headed to the buildings.

"See you later," he said with a wink then left.

All of the boys in my class stared as soon as I entered the classroom. Their faces quickly contorted in disappointment as I stepped in, and their heads snapped towards Kei to give him a death glare. I let out a sigh and rubbed my temples as I took my seat. I felt tired all of a sudden: first, I didn't get enough sleep; second, I ran into Nishinoya who looked so confident and unusual; and now, the boys in my class were all acting weird.

"What's with the deep sigh? Is there something wrong?" Kei asked, leaning his head towards me as he checked if I was alright. I felt myself blush when I saw how close his face was.