SUPERMARKET FLOWERS ( t. oikawa )

03 | the broken heart

VOLLEYBALL, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING IN THIS PLANET, IS A GAME OF THRONES. The constant strive for power, dominion over the weak, the goals to aim for the highest position ever. And time is the most dangerous of enemies. Thrones can be taken in seconds, minutes and in the case of Karasuno High School, consecutive years.

But it is a game of thrones in the end, and as time passes, the rulers change and those who have fallen will rise and those who dominated will fall. Karasuno High School. Once fallen, rises ten times better. Mana thinks that 'fallen powerhouse, flightless crows' is not fitting to describe the brilliance of the Karasuno High School volleyball team.

They are striving in this game of thrones, dominating, strengthening.

And he is one of the key players for this house. With hair the bearing the mesmerizing shade of the obsidian sky and the feathers of crows everyone thought broke and lay in the ground, lifeless.

The King of the Court. The bad king. The dictator.

Mana never believed those things. She thinks that Kageyama Tobio is in fact the sweetest boy she knows. He is no king of ashes and anger. Kageyama Tobio is pure and Mana thinks that he is kind, and misunderstood. He may have the constant temper flares but he was still adorable.

Mana likes that boy. He used to see him practice volleyball until night in the expansive gymnasium of Kitagawa Daiichi, the way he looks at the ball like a friend he will cherish forever, the way the flames of passion ignite in his eyes at the reminder of the sport he loved.

And even now, watching him fumble on the vending machine, perplexed as to what he will choose to buy, Mana thinks that the boy is a pure cinnamon bun.

He is alike Oikawa in a way. The Oikawa she used to cherish.

She's just supposed to buy a couple of drinks for the soccer team on their break. The break is still minutes from the current time but Rie insists that if she ever becomes lost, there will be allowance. She stands still, watches the scene through grey eyes that have never looked so cheerful.

Kageyama Tobio makes her happy.

"Mana-senpai, did you see Oikawa-senpai?" the boy asks, the glimmer of innocence sparking in his eyes as he clutched the green and red volleyball in his hands.

"Ara, Kageyama, I'm afraid he left," she says with a cordial smile. "I'm just waiting for Iwaizumi."

He frowns. "I was going to ask him to teach me how to do a jump serve too."

Mana chuckles. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Oikawa helps you tomorrow."

He is like a child who has been given the greatest gift of all. "Really?"

"Now don't look to hopeful," she says with an awkward chuckle. "I'll feel bad if I don't deliver."

It was strange when he hugged her, but she pats his head. He's like family. The brother she always wanted; something she cannot have.

Oikawa was watching.

And the memory turns to bitter flashbacks. Yelling, fingers pointed, tears held back, fists clenched.

It was raining that time. She vaguely remembers the fat droplets of rain plummeting to the ground, creating pools of water that reflects the grey clouds covering the sky like clumps of pillows. The sound of rain tapping on windows, roofs, gutters and rills.

"He's trying to steal you too!"

Mana shakes her head, eyes oozing with an unfathomable emotion. "You know that's not true."