Strategize: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 20: Three Years Worth

She faced the gym doors, but before she opened it, she took a deep breath.

Calm down, you can do it.

Slowly, she creaked the door open, expecting to see everyone practicing. Instead, they were all squeezed up in one small spot by the window.

"Uh...guys? Aren't you supposed to be practicing?" She asked flatly. Everyone gave her a pitiful look, much to her dismay.

The silver haired setter gently grabbed her right wrist and pointed at her forearm, which was etched with scars. Luckily, she was wearing a sweater,covering it, so the rest only gave him confused looks. "Do you remember what I told you back at the camp?" He managed to pull off a sad smile. She didn't want to talk, because she knew that if she did, her voice will start trembling. Instead, she nodded as a response, recalling clearly what he said.

You know, you don't have to keep it all to yourself anymore. You have friends now. You can tell us anything. Just remember that.

Finally, she inhaled deeply again, calming herself.

"We're not going to waste our precious practice hours just to hear my ramblings." She answered monotonously.

She turned her head to Coach Ukai and asked, "Can I leave early for today? I don't feel very well." She wasn't lying: her stomach feels queasy, and her head throbs from all of the tears she had held back. The coach nodded at her as she grabbed her bag and left the gym.

...

She entered the apartment complex and used the elevator to lift her up to the third floor of the building. As soon as she slammed the doors close, her knees gave out.

A dripping faucet over a bucket: a single drop of water won't hurt, but over the last three years, those droplets built up, making water level slowly, but surely rose.The last droplet met with the bucketload of water, sending small ripples that finally overflowed. Three years worth of tears, all shed in a single night.

...

"Is this one of Ayame's friends? Sugawara, am I correct?"

The girl was awakened by the sound of Tachibana's voice, it seems that she was trying to talk someone on the phone. Wait. That's her phone. She attempted to get up and snatch the phone from her grasp, but she seems to be in no good condition to do so: her body felt heavy, and her headache worsens as she tried to move a muscle. Sick on a Saturday, how great.

"If you're free, can you please look over her? She's got a bad fever and I have a long shift today and I just can't ditch it. Yeah, you can bring your friends. Thank you so much. Okay. Bye." She took a glance at the sick girl to see her looking straight back at her. "How are you feeling?"

Ayame intended to say "horrible" but it came out as a groan. Close enough.

"I have to manage the fruit stocks for the cafe, so your friends are coming over to take care of you." The sick girl had the strong urge to shake her friends shoulders and say, "you shouldn't have done that of all things,", but unfortunately, she was too weak.

"That's what you get for crying the whole night, I can hear you in the other room you know." There it is, Tachibana: Nagging Mode. Ayame knew all this too well, so she hid herself inside the warm, tear soaked, sheets.

Apparently, she had fallen asleep again, and soon, she woke up to the sight of the gray haired setter, who was holding her right hand. Surprised, the boy immediately lets go of her limp hand and blushed.

"I-I was just t-trying to read y-your pulse!" He stuttered out a lame excuse. The girl bought it and nodded. She took a glance at the clock, 12:30 pm. It's time to take her medicine, so she groggily pulled herself up. What the poor boy saw only made his blush deepen: she was only wearing pink polka dot underwear with an oversized button up polo shirt that was open all the way, covering her chest. She didn't seem to mind, though, as she thought her undergarments had the same coverage as a two piece swimsuit. Suga, who's face is crimson red, covered his eyes, but still took small peeks periodically.

As expected, her knees gave out on her halfway through her journey to the kitchen. Suga rushed over and sat down at her eye level, buttoning up her loose polo shirt. His face was still red, and it wasn't because he had caught her fever.

"Th-the others are coming soon. You should go get dresse-" His statement got cut off by the creaking of the door, revealing the rest of the group, even Tsukishima, who probably had better things to do on a Saturday, still came.

The sight they saw was unbelievable to their eyes. Two, red faced teens: one from a fever and one from embarassment, sitting down on the floor, with Suga who seems to be attempting to undress the weak girl.

"I-it's not what you think!"

Poor guy.