Strategize: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 61: Eight Months

Flash flood (n.) - a flooding caused by an unexpectedly heavy rainfall during a storm.

Highlight the following words. Unexpected. Storm.

The sound of heavy raindrops splashing against the cement. Lightning branched out from the gray clouds. A crashing noise followed. The headphones still in his grasp.

Nowhere near her ears.

"Kei!" His mother said, handing him an umbrella. "Are you sure it can't it wait?"

He blatantly ignored the question, instead, he slung on his bag, taking the umbrella from her grasp and reassured his mother. "I'll be back once it's over."

"Be careful!" Those were the last words he heard before heading out the door. Luckily, the water was only an inch deep, so his mobility isn't all that restricted, though he made precautionary measures, borderline between walking fast and jogging. The water splashed with each step, making the ends of his jeans damp. He cursed under his breath for forgetting to roll them before leaving.

The past Tsukishima wouldn't even think about going out in this harsh weather. He could give you an endless list as to why he wouldn't do something as foolish as that. Sometimes he couldn't believe himself how much the girl had affected his life - both negatively and positively. He had his share of unpleasant experiences: walking on sidewalks in the middle of the scorching heat, hiding in a cramped, dusty wardrobe, and now, jogging in the middle of the damn storm - and it was all because of her.

It's amazing how one person can have such a strong effect on him- on someone like Tsukishima Kei: the infamous, snarky, aloof middle blocker of Karasuno. Making him do all this troublesome things on his own command. His teammates would definitely laugh in disbelief at the thought of him actually doing all these shit. Probably saying something along the lines of "maybe it's a different a Tsukishima Kei you're talking about."

One of the reasons why he wanted to keep his relationship a secret - to prevent his pride from crumbling down, after his teammates finally finding a softer side to him- that he actually has one. After all, his pride is his first and foremost priority. Ayame comes a close second, not that it bothered her, for she understood his difficult position. Understanding. One of the traits he liked about her.

But sometimes, the his list of priorities gets messed up. Which is now why he's running in out in the streets, in the midst the raging storm. The umbrella barely doing its job, making stray raindrops drip onto the shoulders of his sweatshirt.

Tsukishima being considerate of others? The world really has turned upside down. Maybe it'll snow next summer.

It was fairly early, two in the afternoon in fact, but the clouds were dark, blocking - rather looks more like engulfing - every single ray of light emitted by the sun. The skies were in murky shades of gray, the color she hates the most. She fears the most.

When he finally reached the apartment complex, he was dripping wet, mostly coming from the lower region of his jeans. His glasses fogged with his breath from panting. Of course, he had thought this through, making sure he brought some extra clothes in this situation. He didn't have time to be flustered of the thought of changing in his girlfriend's apartment - he'll save those regrets for later.

The carpeting in the apartment's lobby was marked with his wet footprints, all the way through the hallways and the elevator. It was empty, though. As it always was. So much for the bad environment that barely any people reside this place. He faced the door with a metal plate plastered on it, her room number: 2203. At first, he lightly knocked on it three times. Then waiting for a couple seconds before knocking again, only this time, it was louder. Tsukishima wasn't the patient type unlike Ayame, as you can see.

Still no answer. Another crashing noise echoed, traveling through the empty hallways. Gingerly, he creaked the door open. The gigantic windows in her room that once showed her the bright, twinkling stars of Miyagi, now depict a horrific scene of murky gray clouds with jolts of lightning branching out. The blinds were open, drops of rain gathering slowly at the glass, dripping. She was nowhere to be found.

But based on personal experience, he knew exactly where to find her. He dropped his bag at her coffee table, then fishing out his white headphones. Thanks to his brother, he got a waterproof backpack last year, which was never much of use until now. After closing the blinds and quickly replacing his pants with dry ones, he cautiously opened another door, leading to the walk in closet. It was dim, but you can still see if you squint.

And there she is.

Her frail body trembled uncontrollably, curled up in the very corner of the closet. You can faintly hear her whimpers amongst the low, rumbling noise erupting from the clouds. Weakly whispering - pleading. The words 'dad' escaping her quivering lips.Her blurry vision and dim surroundings makes it impossible for her to make out the figure in front of her, she knew who it was nevertheless.

It was a familiar sight for him. Those same dull, tearful eyes and the redness of her nose. It was eight months ago, actually. So much happened since then. It was the same situation again.

But only this time, he had no intention of leaving her side.

After he placed on the headphones around her ears, her soft crying subsided. Gently, he pulled her up from the floor. She followed, choosing not to not question his actions as he led her out of the closet. She settled down at the couch, hugging her knees as he wrapped a blanket around her, which came from her bed.

He was never really one for comforting. Unlike Sugawara, he didn't know what the right words to say, leave alone how to comfort someone. He wasn't affectionate like Oikawa, who wouldn't hesitate to shower her with hugs if he were ever to witness her in that state. So he pondered on his choices, wanting to give her a sense of security in times of her need - he is her boyfriend after all.

Awkwardly, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, gently pulling her closer to him. She obliged, scooting closer - in fact she found herself eventually sitting on his legs, nuzzling on the crook of his neck. He could feel her warm breath spreading across his skin. At first, stiffened at the small space between him and his girlfriend, making his ears flush into a faint pinkish tinge. But after a few minutes, he grew accustomed to it, learning how to savor this moment. His chin rested on her head as he awkwardly pulled her to a warm embrace.

He inhaled the scent of her hair, which did had a hint of strawberries, just as Kiyoko mentioned. There was a flash of white through the closed blinds, making the girl bury her face on his chest as his hand lay firmly on the back of her head. She forcefully shuts her eyes close, letting the tears trickle down, making his a small patch of his shirt damp. Muffled pleading to her father escaped her lips, due to the lightning triggering her memories from that night.

He wanted to say something. Anything that'll lessen her trembling, her pleading. He wanted give her a message that whatever happened to her before was the past, and that it's over now. But he was never one for words. He wanted to say so many things...but not a sound escaped from his lips.

But as I said before, my friend: sometimes words can't make their way out people's mouths. And that's perfectly fine. Just let his actions do all the talking. All the explaining.

All the things he wanted to say, things which would perhaps take up a two pages if written down, were shown in a matter of five seconds flat. Slowly, he lifted her chin up, letting her tearful eyes meet his golden ones. He remained stoic, though his expression softened for a split second as he fumbled to reach out to her bangs, brushing the strands away and planting a gentle kiss on her scar.

That was enough to silence her pleading, giving him a small smile before resting her cheek on the crook of his neck. Mumbling out two words:

"Thank you."

He let out soft sigh in relief as the girl fell asleep in his arms. He attempted to do so too, but the loud beating of his heart made it impossible for him to get even a blink. From that day on, every time a lightning strikes, he would plant a gentle kiss on her scar. His loud heartbeat drowned amongst her sniffles and crashes of thunder.

A lot of things happened in the past eight months, that's for sure.