Strategize: Haikyuu Fanfic

Chapter 84: Beach Volleyball

Typical day in morning practice. Summer is nearing its end and Spring High keeps inching closer and closer. Of course, that meant that the girl was drowning in the flimsy pages of her notebook - more that usual. She scribbled and sketched, until she had to hand a water bottle to Tsukishima, who gave a curt nod. It was then the girl remembered something.

"Hey Yachi," Ayame said. "Are you going to watch the Perseid Meteor Shower this year? I was hoping you could take some photos with us. We have the same assigned project and all."

A tinge of pink spreads across Yachi's cheeks. "I can't, sorry... I have other plans with Tadashi..."

"Tadashi...? You mean Yama - OH." Ayame raised her eyebrows, smirking teasingly. "I see now."

"Congratulations." Shimizu grinned slyly along with Ayame. "Mind telling us about it?"

Yachi gulped nervously.

...
And as you can see here folks, it was all so sudden. Love blossoms in the most unpredictable of ways. It starts as a small seed, no big deal. However, once that seed receives a small droplet of water, it can grow into a tall, abundant tree. We have seen that droplet touch Tsukishima's bitter, bitter seed. Now another has fallen into victim of this.

Yamaguchi Tadashi.

There he was, standing right before the girl whom he had a terribly obvious crush for, his heart beating wildly. Morning rays of the sun shone down them, partially shaded by a tall oak tree. It was perfect, he thought. Before practice. Them alone. It was now or never. Along with the quivering of his knees, he spoke, looking determined and hopeful as Yachi stared at him blankly in confusion.

"I... I know you probably don't return my feelings but I like you a lot...!" Yamaguchi bowed stiffly in a ninety degree angle, hiding his red face.

It was Yachi's turn to have a share of the embarassment, her cheeks turned a bright shade of pink. "I-"

Yamaguchi's head shot up and waved his hands frantically, stuttering. "Not like as a friend..! But like like...! Like..." He scrambled clumsily on words in his brain. God, he practiced this in the mirror for so long, yet he ended up like a stuttering mess. H-How did Tsukki pull this off?! He thought to himself.

"Like how Tsukki likes Ayame...!" He blurted out. It took him a couple of seconds to process what he just said. "Y- You don't have to like me back! It's okay!"

As the poor freckled boy huffed as he cooled down from getting so worked up, Yachi replied, half whispering.

"Yamaguchi..."

...

Which brings to us right now. Yachi's friend, Ayame, slapped a hand on her face, warm and pink. "He used us as an example?" Yachi nodded.

"Smooth." Tsukishima added sarcastically, not one bit surprised by the news. "Congratulations, I guess."

Ayame glanced up to the blonde. "I guess it'll just be us two then."

Tsukishima doesn't mind that at all.

As if on cue, doors slammed open, startling all club members. Ryuuji stood at the entrance, arms akimbo. "Hey! Aya-tan! Let's play!"

"Play...? Nii, what are you doing here? I have no time for games, I-"

Ryuuji passed her a volleyball midsentence, catching her off guard but managing to grasp ahold of it. It looked just like any other volleyball - but worn and old, with scratches and patches where the leather peeled off slightly. However, that was where all the similarities end, since the ball felt significantly lighter and softer than a regular one - a beach volleyball.

"Like I said, let's play. We're not going to the beach though, that's too far away. But! I got you these gloves to protect your hands from bruising." He then waved a pair of fingerless gloves, black with a stripe of orange circling the wrist.

Ayame eyed him skeptically. Surely, even with good intentions, her brother has an ulterior motive as to why he came here. Important enough to where he would skip practice at Shiratorizawa. Important enough to where Ushiwaka agreed to let him go. Even so...

She glanced at the coach for any input, who nodded eagerly as a response.

"...Fine." Ayame slipped on the gloves, flexing her fingers.

Hinata bounced excitedly. "I wanna join!"

"We won't lose against you." Kageyama said.

Ryuuji feigned a hurt expression. "Ouch. You think Waka-tan is the only formidable opponent in our school? Sure he may be strong, but he's not the only one..."

"Tsukki can be on our team!" He added, placing a hand on Tsukishima's shoulder. The blonde clicked his tongue at Hinata, smiling tauntingly.

"Sure. I'd like to see the shrimp and the King to lose."

Before the duo retorted, Ryuuji interrupted once more. "And for the third member of the opposing team, I request for Karasuno's ace! Let's see how strong your best player is!"

Asahi, to the surprise of other members, nodded dauntingly. He really has grown throughout the camp, Ayame thought. Maybe not.

"S- Sure...?" He replied weakly.

Ayame deadpanned."Nii, you're getting too cocky. Picking an ace to go against us... Unbelievable..."

"Oh come on!" Her brother protested. "It's not like we're weak either! We make a pretty good team! That is, if we use this ball!"

Their chattering came to a stop with three loud claps from the coach, all eyes shifting to him. Once he gained all of the attention, he spoke.

"Yosh, let's get started."