Mr Refreshing

He's Back, Bitches

"I'M BACK BITCHES!"

Okay, this is definitely not how Daichi envisioned Noya coming back to practice. He was thinking something more bashful, apologetic even, rather than a grandiose flinging open of the gym doors, which is exactly what just happened.

From the corner of his eyes, Daichi could see Asahi losing his shit. The bearded giant is flipping out, his eyes wide in panic in an epic stare-down with the floor. His entire being has gone perfectly still, save for his hands, which are trembling so violently that Daichi wonders how his water isn't sloshing out of his bottle at this point.

The gym is livened up by the commotion that ensues, as Tanaka practically screams "Brooo!!" as he clambers towards his friend.

Daichi steps towards Asahi and places a hand on the ace's back, turning him away from the gym's entrance.

"Keep it together, Azumane."

Suga appears as well, and is whispering "deep breaths, Asahi, deep breaths," fiercely in the general direction of the ace.

The next thing Daichi knows is that Noya has crossed the court and is now standing right in front of the third years.

"Suga-san, you know where I went on Friday?" He asks proudly.

Suga clearly isn't expecting to be the first to be addressed, so he just makes a small "hm?" sound as his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. Asahi, on the other hand has gone pale, and looks like he's willing his own body into fainting.

"I went to Aoba Johsai." Noya slams a fist into his chest. "I went to find Yukiko."

Suga just makes another tiny, squeaking "hm?" sound, and his eyes shoot toward Daichi in a silent plea for help. Daichi shrugs helplessly, not really knowing where all this is leading up to.

Noya is now facing Asahi, and despite the fact that Asahi is nearly two heads taller than the libero, the bearded giant looks much smaller.

"Asahi-san, I'm not gonna pretend like you didn't hear me last week." Noya announces.

Asahi's trembling hands are still now, and Daichi thinks he must've short circuited somewhere in there. He's actually amused and can't wait to see how this will all play out, even though he should probably be a lot more concerned about the wellbeing of his friend, and the team at large. The rest of the boys were observing silently from a distance, too, although Daichi is pretty sure none of them have the slightest clue what is going on. Even the usually nonchalant Tsukishima is eying the group keenly.

"I went to Aoba Johsai, and I broke up with Yukiko." Noya continues.

Asahi just stares back at Noya in shock, his lips moving soundlessly. After a few failed attempts, he manages a strained "What?"

Noya thuds his chest again. "I wanted to be fair to her, and I wanted to be fair to myself, and I wanted to let you know I'm not a coward." Noya declares. "And Asahi-san, you don't have to do anything about what you heard last week, it's cool."

With that, the libero spins on his heels and shouts to the rest of the team "Alright let's practice! Someone spike at me!"

At this point, Daichi realises that Noya probably still doesn't know how Asahi feels about him at all, but he's got to give his kouhai props for being the coolest person in the room. That is next level cool. Even so, Daichi could see that the back of Noya's neck is tinted a fierce vermilion, so that stunt must've taken a ton of courage.

Asahi still stands frozen in his position, and Daichi hears another soft, strangled "What," coming from the ace.

He slaps Asahi on his back now. "Get it together man." Then he shifts his gaze over to Suga, who looks like he's positively about to implode with excitement. "And you too, love."

The team will be just fine. Asahi and Noya will figure it out sooner or later, whenever the former plucks the courage to speak his feelings. But until then, the team will be just fine. With that, Daichi steps onto the court, and shouts for the boys to take their positions.