Haikyuu One-Shots

Ignore It (Asahi Azumane)

They were at it again. I could hear their voices. The two may not have been speaking directly to me, but I knew their words were directed at me. Sick and stupid vampire jokes, among other words.

Ignore them. That's what I kept telling myself. That's what everyone always said to do... That doesn't mean it doesn't still hurt! People who say nonsense like that clearly don't know how it feels to be bullied.

My grip on the piece of chalk in my hand tightened, threatening to break it if these two kept up much longer. It's not my fault my skin is paler than it's supposed to be. It's not my fault I'm different than everyone else. It's not my fault I'm the outcast. It's not my fault that people think I'm a vampire. It's not my fault-

"These are really good," a calm voice said beside me. I slowly stood up, then looked over at the one who had interrupted my internal rant.

Before I could even stop myself, the words that first came to mind spilled right out. "Whoa, you're tall." The guy next to me tensed slightly. "Sorry!" I quickly apologized. "I didn't mean it in a bad way. You must think I'm really rude..."

The tall guy frowned a little. "You're not scared of me, are you?"

"Why would I be?" I asked innocently. This guy was scary? Yeah right. He was about as scary as a kitten.

"Really?" I knelt back down to continue my chalk drawing on the sidewalk square. This one was my tenth today. Each square had a different picture. Mainly they were popular anime characters; some were members of the local high school sports teams.

The particular square I was working on was my favorite so far. It was a spiky-haired libero for a nearby high school as he saved the ball. I'd seen him once in a volleyball tournament and he'd left quite an impression; as did several of his teammates. Digging through my brain, I thought I remembered he was from Karasuno.

As I went back to working on the cute libero, this drawing caught the tall boy's interest. "Rolling Thunder..." I heard him mutter. Curious, I turned my gaze back to him. "T-that's what he calls that..." he stuttered.

"You know him?"

The tall guy nodded. "We're in the same volleyball club. His name's Yuu Nishinoya."

As he said the boy's name, I scrawled it out along the bottom. "So I guess you know that amazing duo too, right?" I pointed to a drawing a few squares down. That one stared a dark-haired setter and an energetic, orange-haired spiker.

"Tobio Kageyama and Shoyo Hinata."

With a stupid grin, I added their names to their drawing before I returned to the libero. "Now what about you?" The first thing I should have done was ask his name, but honestly, have I ever done anything normal?

He shyly introduced himself as Asahi Azumane, Karasuno's ace. Okay, maybe he didn't say the ace part, but I knew it from having seen him during a tournament. It was the same as how I knew three of his friends.

"You have chalk on your face," he told me, pointing to where it was. It didn't surprise me; every time I did this I'd end up with chalk dust all over me by the end of the day. No matter how many times I'd wipe it away, it would only reappear moments later. In the end, it was better left alone until the end.

From then on, we talked about anything and everything. We talked until his friends were calling for him. After I quick goodbye, I watched the gentle giant run off. It wasn't until he was completely out of sight that I realized that I'd never even told him my name.

(Asahi's POV)

I went back the next day, hoping I might catch here there. But there was no sign of the girl with a messy ponytail and chalk speckled face. The only thing I found were more drawings; their artist was long gone.

"Asahi!" my friend's voice called out to me from a little further down the sidewalk. "Come look at this!"

Unsure what Nishinoya was so excited about, I looked up to see him pointing at a square of concrete with a small group of girls staring at it. What could possibly be on it? Knowing that girl, it could have been anything. It was probably the one that she'd done of Nishinoya.

Wait, that one's right next to me. Then what could it... ? My curiosity getting the better of me, I quickly made my way over. When I got there, I don't think I've ever been so shocked.

It was a drawing of me. But that's not the surprising part. I actually looked gentle, not even the tiniest bit scary. Was that how she'd seen me? Along the bottom were some words she'd written. That may have been the most surprising of everything. As I read the words, I could almost hear her voice saying them.

Thank you, Asahi.

Looking back up, I spotted a messy ponytail and a chalk-covered face a little ways away. She gave a smile and little wave, then ran off. Without wasting a second, I chased after her. I was determined to catch that sweet and strong-hearted girl whose name I didn't even know.

And little did I know, that wouldn't be the only time I'd catch her.