Short Stuff [HAIKYUU: Tsukishima Kei x OC Fanfic] [Rewriting]

Chapter 29 - Don't Worry About Me

Akira's POV

"I heard what happened," Jiro said as he took a seat beside me. We were taking a break in the back while the others were cleaning up to get ready for the exhibition matches. I took the time to ice my leg so I could play a match against Jiro.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," I told him, forcing myself to let out a small laugh.

"Really? Then why did that blonde giant have to carry you out of the gym?" he asked, but he didn't need an answer. "Tell me whenever someone bothers you like that again, okay?"

"I will," I told him with a smile. I lied. Some things just have to be kept to yourself. This isn't something I wanted to bother anyone with, not even Tsu-kun.

We headed down to the badminton courts to check on the crowd before getting changed for the match... Well, it took me a while to convince everyone that I was good to play a match. They were pretty overprotective, they almost seemed like big brothers and sisters. It felt kind of nice, but I kind of felt restricted. I suppose it's my doing anyways, risking my own ass and getting the injury I had.

"Oi. short stuff," Tsu-kun suddenly called out. "Don't push yourself later."

"I know," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Uwaaa! Such a good boyfriend!"

"Tsukki's becoming a real man?"

"Was I not a man before?"

"Oi he wasn't even denying being his boyfriend!"

"I'm not-"

"It's okay if you're both still in denial!"

I let out a small laugh at the banter. It was a breath of fresh air over the feeling of disgust that had taken over my senses.

"Come on, let's get ready," Jiro said with a smile as the crowd started to thicken.

"We'll be watching," Daichi-san said with a smile as he ruffled my hair. Shimizu gave me a quick hug, and Hinata gave me a high five....

Well... as high as we could, anyways.

They sat on the bleachers along with the rest of the crowd and we headed out to get changed.

Coach was super scared of me doing this match, but I made sure to stretch well and I iced my leg as much as I could before the match. Needless to say, I was doing this match whether he liked it or not.

"Hey," Jiro said as we walked back into the courts. "The people we were up against at the tournament are watching."

I scanned the bleachers and let out a sigh as I saw the jerk I first went against. He rolled his eyes when he saw me but was nudged by his coach who was seated beside him. He showed a small and forced bow as his coach smiled at me. I smiled back.

"He seems to have taken a liking to you," Tachi-sensei said as she showed up beside us. "Let's talk to them after the match, okay?"

We all nodded and headed to our bench where we would prepare and rest during the match. Jiro and I started stretching until my eyes landed on someone familiar. I finished stretching and headed over to him.

"It's good to see you!" I said as he stood up. We gave each other a quick hug as Jiro walked over to us. "This is Jun Shino, one of Date Tech's singles players," I told Jiro.

"You and Aki had a pretty good match," Jiro said with a smile as they shook hands.

"I'm really sorry for what happened-"

"Hey, stop, I'm all healed up now," I said, smiling. Jiro rolled his eyes and pinched my cheek.

"Today's your first day out of the damn wheelchair, don't push your luck," he said before going back to the benches.