Strategize: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 21: Not One Bit

"I-it's not what you think!" The silver haired setter defended, only getting shocked looks from his friends. But just before they all opened their mouth to shriek, the setter covered the girl's ears to protect her from their impure accusations.

"SUGA HOW DARE YOU?!" Tanaka yelled on the top of his lungs, pointing an accusing finger to a bright faced Sugawara.

"Taking advantage of sick girls? How low, Vice Captain." Tsukishima teased with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Luckily, Daichi was there to stop the bickering by giving his teammates an icy, terrifying stare. Suga lifted his hands off of Ayame's ears, who completely missed the whole thing.

"...medicine." She mumbled out as she got up and headed to the kitchen. After swallowing the capsule, she washed her thoat down with water. She felt a piece of cloth that fell on her head and looked up to where it came from. It was a pair of black leggings that came from her closet.

"Wearing nothing but underwear when guys are coming over... You should know better." Tsukishima scolded, refusing to meet her eyes. Without a hint of embarrassment or regret, she nodded and pulled on the leggings and finished buttoning up her shirt.

"Your apartment is so huge!" Nishinoya said in awe as he looked around the room. Mallow greeted the ginger, who grabbed the dog by his waist and started chasing Kageyama around the room. Even on a Saturday, she has to put up with their antics.

The medicine took effect almost immediately, since she felt lighter and the throbbing of her head started to subside. She grabbed a knife and a wooden board out of the kitchen cabinet and began to chop some green onions. "This place is surprisingly cheap actually, since it was placed on a bad environment, they had to drop the monthly cost to reel in some people."

"A bad environment?" Suga looked at her, confused.

"This part of the town is where most robberies occur. They only appear at night though.A group of thugs used to try to snatch some money from me,and it wouldn't end so well for them. But now they knew my face so they would just leave me alone." Her lips curved into a malicious smile as she suggestively held up the knife, which sent shivers down Noya's spine.

"What do you guys want for lunch?" She glanced at Kageyama, who muttered out his response.

"Pork curry."

"The king has made his order." The blonde teased, irritating the setter, he faced the two second years and said within Ayame's earshot, "let's go on a porn mag hunt." Nishinoya and Tanaka's face lit up and started opening the drawers, which she didn't seem to mind.

While the three were searching in one of her drawers, Tsukishima stumbled on a newspaper dated three years ago.

"...Newspaper?" Tsukishima mumbled, getting everyone's attention. The girl, who was preoccupied with preparing the curry, froze.

The headline read: Yamamoto Recording Company Loses 1/3 Worth of Net Income.

"One of Japan's wealthiest companies loses 1/3 of net income to Mei Hanazono, or previously known as Mei Yamamoto, during a divorce case that ended gruesomely to her former husband, Kazuhiro Yamamoto. Rumors spread that the reason behind their divorce was due to his violent tendencies towards his children: Ryuuji, who is 14, and his little sister Ayame, who is 12.

'My father would never do such thing. He never laid a finger on me or onii-san. Mommy and Daddy are just drifting apart.' Ayame Yamamoto herself puts the rumors to an end, proving the harsh accusations of her father false.

The court case ended with a compromise when it came to the two parting siblings: Ryuuji resides with his mother, as to Ayame, stayed alongside her father, thus making her the rightful successor of the Yamamoto Recording Company..."

"A divorce?" Hinata mumbled, turning his head to the girl mentioned in the newspaper.

"Ah. That. I forgot that I owe you guys an explanation from yesterday." She paused, rubbing the back of her neck.

"The night before that interview happened, I still remember it so clearly, it was thundering outside. That old man was as always, getting drunk from liquor. He threatened me to not reveal his abusive behavior to the media, and so he took the bottle and did this." Hands trembling slightly, she brushed her bangs away, revealing a deep scar that was once a gash.

"So when I found out that Yoshida-kun was told by him that we got into an argument, and that's the reason why I ran away, I got really mad. He hasn't changed one bit over the past three years. He just keeps spewing out lie after lie."

She stood back up and headed back to the kitchen, saying as lightheartedly and as she could possibly muster, "well, that's about it, I guess. But I would much appreciate it if you don't treat me with pity bring this up. Shall we eat?"