OBSERVERS - TSUKISHIMA KEI

FIFTEEN - CLASS

Amaku stepped into Ukai's convince store, tiredness still hanging from her eyes. The faint smell of cigarette smoke hit her before she saw him, sitting behind the counter half asleep. Hitoka was hiding behind her, intimidated by the man.

"Wake up, old man." Amaku rang the bell on the counter.

Ukai jumped up, yelping as he did. "Jesus, kid!"

Amaku couldn't help but let out a small laugh at his reaction, motioning to Hitoka to grab whatever snack she wanted so she could talk to the coach alone.

   She had explained her concerns to the blonde girl on their walk to school, and she decided to follow her advice with talking to the coach.

"So," She started, rolling the fabric of her school uniform skirt between her fingers. "are you still going to coach for Karasuno?"

Ukai laughed, catching Amaku by surprise. "Absolutely."

She wasn't expecting that. In fact, she had written down a list of reasons why it'd be beneficial for him to keep coaching the boys and had an entire speech memorized. It brought a wide, genuine smile to her face, her dimples showing. Coach Ukai froze for a moment, realizing he had no idea she even had dimples.

"Now, I need to email you a few ideas I have for future practices." He said, grabbing his phone.

✧☆✧

Amaku was smart, and not just in volleyball. She cared greatly for her academics, the gratification of being in the top class at Karasuno and being one of the top students was something she was proud of.

She wasn't boastful, she kept quiet and rarely spoke in class, but she wasn't a teachers pet by any means, either. However, she made sure she was always on time and rarely forgot about assignments or homework.

Hitoka was the only real friend she ever had, and she never had to luxury to share a class with her. It wasn't that Amaku didn't have acquaintances or people in her class that she got along with, but she wasn't expecting for any of the boys to really talk to her outside of volleyball. She also knew she could seem a little scary, and majority of her classmates were cautious around her.

So, when Yamaguchi (who was of course followed by Tsukishima) sat in the seat next to her before their teacher arrived one day, her heart softened a little. It became a daily occurrence, and eventually they started eating lunch together, too.

What Amaku didn't expect by becoming friends with the pair was the abundance of confessions, or at least attempted ones, Tsukishima would receive. At first, she felt bad for the girls. The blonde was actually pretty respectful about it, but he was still blunt as ever, and it wasn't uncommon for a girl to cry at the rejection.

She also hated seeing Tsukishima's ego flare up even more.

He wasn't a player by any means, but even Amaku could see he was a very attractive boy. He was close, if not, the tallest boy in their year, which helped his odds greatly. But his looks were misleading, and he didn't seem very interested in any of the girls that approached him.

So, when a tall blonde girl approached his desk with a shy smile, Amaku and Yamaguchi knew the signs all too well. They pretended to be very invested in something on Amaku's phone while they listened in subtly.

Tsukishima looked bored as soon as the girl's back was turned, rubbing his eyes.

"She was pretty." Amaku shrugged.

"Not my type." The blonde said simply, resting his head on his palm.

"What is your type, Tsukki?" he asked.

"I dunno." He replied dully.

"Well how are you going to figure that out if you don't give any of these girls a chance." Yamaguchi pointed out.

Tsukishima's eyes changed for a moment, a hint of vulnerability behind them before they quickly went back to the same disinterest they usually held. Amaku could've sworn she imagined it, but it peaked her curiosity.

She always assumed Tsukishima didn't have a girlfriend because of his insufferable personality, but she was starting to believe it was a choice on his end.

"I don't think any girl is going to put up with his non-stop shitty insults." Amaku smirked.

"I wouldn't insult my girlfriend, moron." Tsukishima crossed his arms.

Amaku didn't say anything, she just looked at Yamaguchi with a questioning glance, only to see he was already doing the same thing at her. The blonde scoffed in disbelief at their expressions, but there was a hint of amusement in his face.

"I hate to say it, but I think the only way a relationship would work with Tsukki is if she's even meaner than him." Yamaguchi said, earning a glare from his friend.

"I don't know," Amaku said. "you're very kind, Yamma, and he keeps you around."

Yamaguchi smiled at this. Even if it was a joke, he appreciated Amaku seeing him and Tsukishima's friendship as real. Most people assumed it was one sided, but the blonde was a great friend, you just had to understand how to read him.

   In private, he was great. He just got overstimulated with social settings or a lot of people.

"Will you two stop talking about me as if I'm not here?" Tsukishima scowled.

"You're actually much more pleasant when we ignore you, so." Amaku smirked, making him roll his eyes.

He turned his head at that, bouncing his foot. The teacher arrived soon after, putting his belongings down as the class quieted down.

The girl nudged Yamaguchi, crumbling up a small piece of paper and flicking it at his head. It bounced off and Tsukishima whipped his head around, glaring incredulously at the pair who were now covering their mouths to muffle their laughter.

They were cut off by Tsukishima throwing an eraser at Amaku, hitting her square in the forehead. Yamaguchi was having unheard time containing himself, and Tsukishima had a proud grin on his face as he kept his focus on the teacher.

Amaku tried to glare at him, but the sound the eraser made when it hit her head in the otherwise quiet classroom brought a matching smile to her face. She was glad they were in the back row.