Say You Love Me (A Haikyuu!! Fanfiction)

Say You Love Me [3]

Chapter 3
Practice Game

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"Kei? Is Juri-chan okay?"

Tsukishima Kei turned to look at his mother who came to peek through the doorway. He was sitting by the entrance to their living room, taking his shoes off. "Yeah. It was just a minor injury."

"I see," his mother responded, sighing in relief. "I was surprised when you suddenly called and told me that something happened to her."

Tsukishima had called his mother earlier to tell her that he would be home later than usual because he'd drop by at the Kamasaki's first to check on Juri.

"I'm sorry for not explaining," he simply said.

She gave him a smile in response. "It's all right. It's just that you sounded like you were panicking over the phone, so I thought it was serious."

"Ah." Tsukishima pondered for a minute, recalling how he had behaved earlier. He realized he was indeed panicking that time he called her. "It's because she didn't explain to me what really happened as well."

"It's sweet how you seem to really care for her a lot."

He took a couple of seconds to respond to that. "Yeah. She's my fiancee, after all."

"Kei," his mother suddenly spoke in a serious voice, the expression on her face becoming pensive. "Juri-chan is an amazing girl, and I know that the agreement your grandparents made before is binding you together. If the both of you would end up loving each other, then that's great. But if you ever find someone else you want to spend the rest of your life with, or if she finds someone else she wants to be with, please don't hesitate to tell us, okay?"

Tsukishima's bespectacled eyes widened in surprise upon hearing that.

What...?

Someone else to spend the rest of his life with? Other than Juri?

Because he did not respond—due to the fact that he was completely astounded—his mother continued, "Both of you are still so young, after all. A lot can still happen. We just want you both to be genuinely happy. Your grandparents aren't around anymore anyway."

Tsukishima didn't know what to feel as he contemplated every word his mother had just said. Different kinds of emotions overpowered him, making him freeze on his spot. Memories of the happy times he had spent with Kamasaki Juri came rushing over him, taking over his mind for a moment.

He couldn't imagine spending those times with someone else other than her.

And,

He couldn't possibly imagine Juri being with someone else other than him.

The thought itself was sending Tsukishima Kei on edge.

***

THE NEXT DAY
Aoba Johsai High School

Kamasaki Juri was having a great day.

It had been a while since the last time she had watched one of Tsukishima's volleyball matches. She couldn't believe she finally got the chance to see him play again. She had to thank Kindaichi Yutaro and Kunimi Akira for that, without them she wouldn't have known about the practice game.

She was already inside the gymnasium, making her way to the second floor audience stands, when she spotted Kindaichi and Yahaba Shigeru standing outside the washroom.

"What are you doing there?" she asked curiously upon noticing that they were just stoning there in the middle of the hallway. "You're supposed to be warming up already."