𝐀 𝐒𝐌𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐅𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐑 - 𝐦. 𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐮

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐭𝐡 | 𝟑𝟓

wonder gloomcore friday evening 😝🎧 — daylist

<3

your room was filled with the sound of shoes squeaking against a gym floor and distant yelling, some of itachiyama's most recent games flashing across your t.v screen.

you had a pen and notebook in front of you, and a list of their players, along with their strengths and weaknesses scribbled onto the sheet of paper.

you grimaced as you watched some of their plays. itachiyama was unbelievably skilled. they didn't have many weaknesses that stood out—not like other teams. for example, shiratorizawa's weakness was their reliance on their star player. they were so predictable; almost every attack was from ushijima.

though itachiyama used all their players. not to mention that they're a powerhouse school. they had sakusa, one of the top aces in japan, and motoya, one of the best liberos.

you weren't even the one who was supposed to play tomorrow, yet you could feel your stomach turn at the thought of inarizaki going against them.

if they had another loss, how would the team react?

how would atsumu react? that was your biggest concern as of right now.

just then, your phone started ringing. you quickly paused the match to look down at your screen.

your chest tightened at the caller id, then deju vu hit you. atsumu had called you the night before his game with shiratorizawa as well.

you hesitantly brought the phone up to your ear, answering the call.

"hello?"

"hi, y/n."

a soft smile cracked the flat line on your lips. "hi, atsumu," you responded, tapping your pen against your notebook.

"why'd you call?" you asked, your eyes panning over to the screen in front of you, your nerves worsening. you couldn't stop thinking about how atsumu might spiral if they lost again.

"just wanted to hear your voice," he answered, earning an airy laugh. you wished you could ignore the way his flirty comments made you feel, but you couldn't.

heat rose to your cheeks as you thought of how to respond to that. there was so much on your mind lately that you could hardly think straight.

then your mind went back to how you abruptly left him at the gym. you felt like such a hypocrite for it.

"sorry for leaving in such a rush today," you said gently, the memory making you cringe.

atsumu shrugged, but of course, you couldn't see that. "it's fine; i get it. if anything, i'm proud of you for studying so hard."

you appreciated his words of approval, a smile pulling at the corner of your lips. "thank you."

"how's that been, by the way— i mean with kita," he asked, his voice quieter than usual. there was a silent question on the tip of his tongue; it was something you couldn't ignore.

you sat up, hugging your pillow close to your chest, your chin resting at the top of it. you took a small pause before answering, "good."

the line went silent before you decided to speak again. "what are you really asking?" you questioned, your fingers digging into the pillow lightly.

atsumu quickly laughed, "what am i really asking?"

you hummed a quiet yes, but he said nothing. "i miss you, atsumu.." you trailed off, taking a small pause as you fought the shaky breath that was threatening to leave your lips. "i miss you tutoring me."

there was this constant thought in the back of your head that scolded you every time you said something cheesy like that because, at the end of the day, you had no idea if atsumu felt the same, but the words rolled off your tongue so easily.

"if that's any consolation," you added, squeezing your pillow a little tighter as you inwardly cringed.

"it is." you could hear the smile in his voice.

"are you gonna pass?" he asked after his last words had sunk in.

"well, i don't know-"

the boy scoffed, "wrong answer."

you furrowed your brows at his interruption, but before you could ask what he meant, he continued. "are you going to pass?"

you stayed silent until you finally realized what he wanted. you playfully rolled your eyes before responding, "yes, i'm going to pass."

he grinned, "good."

there was yet another silence, but it was a welcomed one. though eventually you spoke up again, "hey, atsumu."

"yeah?"

"you're gonna do great tomorrow," you assured him, an appreciative hum coming over his end of the line.

"thank you, y/n. that means a lot."

"of course," you replied. you glanced at your phone to see that it was 12:23 a.m. with a small sigh, you brought it back to your cheek. "it's late. you should get some sleep for tomorrow."

the suggestion made atsumu's lips twitch into a frown. he wanted to stay on the call a little longer, but he knew as well as you did that he needed sleep.

he sucked in a breath. "yeah, you're right."

"i know," you laughed, to which he rolled his eyes.

"goodnight then, y/n."

"goodnight, 'tsumu."

still, there was a small static that lingered as atsumu hesitated to press the 'end call' button. for a second, you thought you heard the quiet sound of atsumu opening his lips to say something more, then a beep.

you stared at your phone to see that he had hung up, though you continued to stare at the screen, his name and face illuminating your phone.

finally you placed it on your nightstand, playing itachiyama's film again, though at this point, you could hardly focus.

-

it was wednesday afternoon, and you were sitting in the gym with coach kurosu while the boys grudgingly set up the net, the referee stand, and chairs.

"so what did you think of itachiyam?" he asked, though his attention seemed to be elsewhere. he was carefully watching his setter as you spoke.

"they're a really well-rounded team," you told him, handing him your notes. "you should just look at this."

he finally looked at you, then at the notebook you placed in his lap. he adjusted his glasses as he picked it up, skimming over it. after a while, he gave an approving nod.

though he still didn't say anything. it made you feel as though your work was for nothing.

"what's on your mind?" you asked with a hint of genuine curiosity.

coach kurosu shrugged. "atsumu jammed his finger last night."

your eyes widened. "what? what happened?!"

kurosu let out a groan of annoyance as he recalled the situation. "he set wrong. i told that damn miya not to injure himself," he said between gritted teeth as his eyes wandered back up to the blonde.

you glanced over at atsumu, watching him carefully. you noticed the way he looked down at his hand as he placed the chair down, carefully curling it into a fist, his face pulled into a scowl.

idiot...

"how will he set..?" you slowly asked, turning back to the coach who simply sighed. his silence made your chest feel heavier.

"coach?" you asked again.

"i'm sure he'll be fine. it's only his pinky. it'll still be a little harder, but it shouldn't cause too many issues," he finally responded, letting you breathe again.

you leaned back, letting out a quiet breath.

you watched as the boys did their pre-game stretches until coach kurosu called them over. he insisted that sit in a circle around him and continued to stretch, so they obliged.

you stood to the side as you listened to their coach talk. though eventually he called you over. you hesitantly walked over, carefully stepping past the boys on the floor.

"yeah?"

"give 'em your notes."

he handed back your notebook. "what?- but you-"

"you're assistant manager now."

with that, everyone turned their attention towards you. you met the miya's reassuring smiles before speaking up.

you listed out every detail you thought necessary. you mentioned how they had an overall balance of both defense and offense, making them hard to score on. the rest varied from sakusa's hyper-mobile wrist, to motoya's incredible reflexes.

the boy's all hummed in understanding, asking questions every now and then, like where they should stand on defense for the different hitters, which you let coach kurosu explain.

eventually, they had all run out of questions and had a pretty good understanding of itachiyama's defense and offense.

"okay, go warm up then," coach kurosu clapped his hands together, and the boys all stood up and jogged onto the court.

however, you grabbed osamu and atsumu before they could leave. you hugged osamu tightly. "good luck!" you grinned, osamu offering a soft smile in return.

"thanks. you too, assistant manager." the comment made you grin.

"wish kita good luck for me as well," osamu nodded, his eyes filtering to atsumu as you said that before heading off.

atsumu'a lip pressed into a straight line, but he quickly shook it off once you looked at him.

"wanna wish me luck too?"

"that.." you trailed off, holding out your hand. "and i want to see your hand."

atsumu cocked his head to the side, but he didn't question you. he placed his hand into yours, the touch shooting an electric yet warm feeling through your hand.

you tried to ignore it, instead focusing on his injury.

"is this your jammed one?" you quipped.

he hesitated. "yeah? how'd you know i jammed my finger?"

"cus your coach told me," you glowered at him, before leading him back to the chairs on the side of the court. he sat down beside you, his hand still in yours.

you bent down, grabbing the small medical kit beside the chairs and taking out some gauze and medical tape.

"sorry.. i wasn't aware that you had to know every detail of my life." atsumu uttered, his words sarcastic, yet playful.

you slapped his hand jokingly, forcing a small yelp out of him.

"ow! my pinky!" he faked a whine, which you ignored.

"is it so bad if i want to know?" you asked softly, your eyes fixated on his fingers as you carefully began wrapping his pinky and ring finger together with a thin layer of gauze.

he didn't answer, causing you to look up curiously. his warm gaze bored into you as you began working the tape against his fingers.

"no," he murmured, a small smile adorning his lips.

you looked back down, your face growing warmer as you returned the gesture.

atsumu couldn't deny how nice it felt to have his hand in yours, even if it was simply resting in your palm. he swallowed thickly, his mind swarming with thoughts he couldn't make sense of.

he didn't need this right now.

but he didn't want you to stop either.

you brought the medical tape around his fingers twice before pulling away from him.

"how's that?" you asked.

atsumu shrugged. "your taping could use some work."

you rolled your eyes, only working to make him laugh. "it's good," he said seriously, observing your work carefully.

then he scowled. "how am i supposed to set?"

you contemplated his question for a moment. "use your wrist to compensate for it," you gestured towards the tape, and he nodded slowly. atsumu wasn't sure how he would do it, but he was sure he would figure it out.

"okay, sure."

before he could leave, you wrapped your arms around him, the boy hugging you back. you noticed how this time he reciprocated it quicker than he did the last few times.

"good luck," you told him as you pulled away.

he smiled. "thanks."

with that, he jogged over and stood across from his brother, who was waiting for him, the boy exasperatedly throwing his hands up once he was done with you.

as they warmed up their shoulders, itachiyama finally made an appearance. the team strolled in, their hitter glaring at your school's team.

they sat down on the other end, slipping on their shoes and kneepads. despite being late, they didn't seem to be in a rush, which only made you feel more uneasy.

the boys slowly made their way onto the opposite end of the court, doing the same as inarizaki: warming up their arms.

there wasn't much time left on the clock, though. before you knew it, the buzzer rang throughout the gym, signaling their warm-up time was over.

the match had officially started.

<3

honestly, because it's been months since i've written the last chapter (game chapter) i didn't notice how short the time frame between then and now was🧍‍♀️

but i've written too much to start over, so im sorryy 😭🙏