effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER THREE / the revelation

You let out a little bark of a laugh as the volleyball fell down on Tanaka's head. "Come on, dude, that was so easy to receive!"

Tanaka flushed and flipped you off. "Shut the hell up!"

As you and Tanaka began to argue and play-fight, Ennoshita shot both of you an exasperated look. Nishinoya was too caught up in his own laughter to bother stopping you. "Seriously, you guys are all children," Ennoshita said with a heavy sigh.

Nishinoya shrugged as he calmed down. "I mean, we are teenagers!" The volleyball rolled to a stop at Nishinoya's feet and he tossed it over to Ennoshita, who bounced it a few times before raising it to serve.

When you got to Nishinoya's house earlier that morning, Ennoshita and Tanaka were there as well. Kinoshita and Narita couldn't make it because of prior familial arrangements, so the four of you decided to have some 2-on-2 matches for fun. Currently, it was you and Tanaka against Nishinoya and Ennoshita.

After a few more matches, arguments, and play-fights, you guys decided to call it quits for the day. It was about two or three in the afternoon and although the heat wasn't too bad, it was unusually sunny for the season.

You let out a loud sigh as you collapsed on the ground next to Nishinoya's house. "Ahh, that feels so nice," you said, putting an ice-pack against your neck.

Nishinoya laughed as he sat down to your right. Ennoshita and Tanaka followed suit, and the four of you formed a close-knit diamond. "I didn't know you were that sensitive to the heat," Nishinoya teased.

You flicked his forehead, still keeping the ice pack on your neck. He let out a series of high-pitched protests as he rubbed the red spot in the middle of his forehead. Tanaka laughed at his best friend's plight while Ennoshita just sighed and took a drink from his water bottle.

After a few minutes of sitting down and resting, Nishinoya bounced to his feet and pointed at you, Tanaka, and Ennoshita. "Race me to the ice cream parlor!"

"Oh, you are so on!" you and Tanaka exclaimed in sync, jumping to your feet as well. Ennoshita rolled his eyes and reluctantly got to his feet, placing his water bottle back down next to your combined belongings.

"Ready...set...go!"

You ended up beating Nishinoya again by just a few seconds. Tanaka was practically on Nishinoya's heels and Ennoshita was a few feet behind. You laughed and put your hands proudly on your hips, enjoying the childish pout on Nishinoya's face.

"Well?" you teased. "Can you finally admit that I'm faster than you?"

He grumbled and crossed his arms. "...Fine."

"Wow!" Tanaka exclaimed. "The only person who's ever beat Noya in a race is Hinata. I wonder if you're faster than he is?"

You shrugged and linked your hands behind your head as you led the others into the store. "We'll see at the training camp. I'm still surprised Ukai and Mister Takeda agreed to let me come along."

"You play volleyball, don't you?" Nishinoya countered as though it was the sole answer for everything. "Besides, you and Coach sound like you know each other well."

You nodded. "Yeah, my dad was on the volleyball team with Ukai when they both went to Karasuno. I think they were best friends or something, and it carried over to me and my mom as well."

Tanaka gasped. "Your dad played volleyball? No wonder you're so good at it! What position did he play?"

A sheepish smile came across your face as you rubbed your neck. "Libero. Like father, like daughter, I suppose."