Handstand | Kyōtani x Reader

Chapter One

"Oikawa-san, I-- I like you!"

You watched from behind a corner as your friend, Megumi, confessed to the volleyball captain, Oikawa Tooru. He was quite popular at Aoba Jōsai, for reasons you never really understood. He had a bad attitude, and never really cared about much except volleyball. You couldn't blame him for having a passion-- you, yourself, had things you were devoted to-- but you didn't quite get why, when he shows almost no interest in much else but the sport, he was so appealing to the girls.

Nevertheless, you supported Megumi (or, as you call her, Megu) in her choice to confess. The volleyball club was practicing, but Oikawa didn't practice on Mondays, so you had heard for some reason, so Megu got some time to talk to him. You casually walked past the two, acting as if nothing was happening, and into the gym.

The boys were working up a sweat, setting and spiking. In all honesty, you hadn't a clue about any position in volleyball, but as an athlete you tended to find watching others exercise very informative. You could learn a thing or two about stretching, as your senpais were on the floor by the benches, trying out a stretch you hadn't seen before. Since you were in your dance clothes (a tight Aoba Jōsai t-shirt and a pair of black leggings), you walked over to them and greeted them respectfully.

"Good afternoon, Matsukawa-senpai, Hanamaki-senpai, Iwaizumi-senpai."

"Hey, (L/n)-chan. What brings you around here?"

You pointed towards the door with your thumb. "Megu is confessing to Oikawa-senpai."

"Doesn't that irk you? I would have figured you liked him, too," Hanamaki commented, straining slightly as he stretched.

"I don't like him romantically; he seems like a good friend, but he's not my type." You sat down on the ground once the three made space for you. "Can I ask about the stretch you're doing? It looks new."

"Yeah, go ahead," Iwaizumi accepted.

You began to mimic the boys, bending your left leg and crossing it over your right leg, which remained straight, and twisting your torso. You could feel the workout in your thighs, but noticed the boys soon staring at you in awe.

"How are you so flexible?" Matsukawa asked, eyes wide in what looked like horror.

You chuckled. "Practice, senpai. Lots and lots of... practice."

The boys didn't notice when you looked over onto the court. Practicing some spikes, you saw a boy with a determined look on his face. His eyes were fierce, and he had an odd looking haircut: blond with two black stripes circling his head like the Earth's equator. As if in slow motion, he jumped up into the air, his body bending backwards like a stick on its last limbs. As he snapped his back forward, you heard the smack of his hand contacting the ball echoing through your ears. The ball and the boy landed on the ground simultaneously, and he veered his head towards you.

You looked away immediately, your ears heating up slightly as you switched legs. The door clicked open, and Megu ran towards you with an excited grin. "(Y/n)! He said yes!"

You got up and grabbed her shoulders, steading the jittery strawberry-blonde girl. "Calm down, Megu. C'mon, you're disturbing their practice. Let's head home, okay?"

"Y-yeah, okay. Then can I tell you all about it?" she asked as you grabbed your dance bags off of the wall.

"Of course." You turned to your three senpais and bowed from across the gym. "Thanks for the new stretch, I'll be sure to use it!"

Pushing open the door, Megumi stepped through and looked at her shoes as you passed Oikawa. She gripped your hand, like she always does when she's either antsy or embarrassed. You greeted Oikawa quietly and tugged her off campus.

"Iwaizumi," a certain wing spiker approached his senpai as the latter finished up with another stretch, "who was she?"

"Tachibana Megumi?"

Kyōtani shook his head. "The one you were stretching with. I already know Tachibana-san."

"That's (L/n) (Y/n). She's in your year, class... 3, maybe? It might be class 2." He looked towards Matsukawa for affirmation.

"Year 2, class 2."

Iwaizumi chuckled. "I was half right. Anyways, she's a dancer for Seijō's ballet A-Team. A real prodigy, from what I hear. A little while after you left she started to visit and get tips from Oikawa and me about increasing her jump height and strength. We're kinda friends now, I guess."

Hanamaki sing-song-ily chimed, "And she's single! As one of the few girls in this school not head over heels for Assikawa, you should snap her up quickly!"

Kyōtani scowled, swiftly turning around towards the bench. "That's not why I was asking, moron."

Matsukawa leaned over and grinned, whispering, "50 yen says they're together in a month."

"I'm betting two months; this is the Mad Dog-Chan we're talking about, here."

"Fair enough. Rule: we can attempt to set them up."

Hanamaki smirked. "Of course. I already ship it."