Things Unspoken

Chapter 6: Six and Stones may Break my Bones, but your Words will Always

Maybe Tsukishima was over-exaggerating.

But, maybe he wasn't.

He couldn't be sure anymore.

Nevertheless, he got through most of the next day with little sleep, pointedly ignoring Kuroo and going out of his way to actively avoid him.

Tsukishima couldn't shut the man up, but he didn't have to listen to him if he didn't want to. Once he had his power back, he could ensure he'd never hear a single word from the captain's mouth ever again.

'But, he sounds so sad.'

The blonde looked out across the large gymnasium to find Nekoma on the far side of the room, preparing to fight one of the other Tokyo teams. His teammates looked concerned, and even Kenma was giving Kuroo a side-eye even as he tapped away on his phone.

He just looked so exhausted.

But, it wasn't Tsukishima's problem. It wasn't, yet he felt a seed of guilt sow itself into his chest. After all, it was his fault Kuroo looked like that.

No, no, it wasn't. It was the third-year's fault for messing with him. He loved picking on people after all. He was, as others called him, a provocation master. It was in his blood.

In retrospect, Tsukishima should have known—if it was a café that Kuroo frequented, he must have heard that cashier's thoughts countless times in the past. He should have known the moment Kuroo had started asking about the thoughts of other people. He had purposefully brought Tsukishima there with ulterior motives. It was clear now.

Kuroo's sunken eyes lifted and locked with Tsukishima's. The blonde ripped his gaze away immediately.

Akaashi gave Tsukishima a look that he felt instantly. The first-year knew what it was about—the setter could probably feel all the tension in the room and wanted Tsukishima to fix it. He wasn't going to. Kuroo would get over it. He'd have to.

Granted, he was grateful to Akaashi for the help last night, but, fat lot of help that did in the end, after Tsukishima discovered Kuroo was just messing with him. Half of Kuroo's feelings of nervousness probably stemmed from guilt. The upperclassman probably didn't want Tsukishima to find out that he had used him.

He didn't want to deal with it.

Neither did he want to deal with all the thoughts swirling around in his head from people who were afraid he was more annoyed than usual.

He was.

It wasn't just annoyance, though, he felt a mixture of guilt and sadness on top of the anger and hurt. Not that anyone else had to know that.

Well, except for Akaashi who had no choice in the matter.

And so, the day ended uneventfully, and Tsukishima was determined to see it through to the end this way. Day five, done and over. Just two more days to endure.

Or, so he thought.

"Hey, Tsukishima, Kuroo seemed to want to talk to you—" Daichi said as they gathered in the cafeteria for dinner. The captain had spoken as the team was halfway through dinner in the mess hall, when most people had already finished with their meals and was off to bed or extra practice.

"Please tell him I'm busy," Tsukishima responded curtly. The anger from last night was still there, but it was only a low simmer in his stomach now.

"That might be kind of hard since he's coming over here right now," Hinata mumbled around his mouthful of rice. Tsukishima started and looked behind him to see the third-year abandon his own team's table to make his way towards them, jaw set and eyes determined.