effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE / the owls and the cats

"Hey, hey, hey, libero girl!"

At the sound of Bokuto's loud cry, you turned around, your bag still hanging loosely from your grip. Next to you, Nishinoya and Tanaka turned as well, and almost immediately you could feel a protective aura radiating off them.

"Knock it off," you scolded as you smacked both of them across the back of the head. "Hi, Bokuto!"

"Glad you could make it again," he said with a grin, stopping in front of you with his arms crossed. "Oh, who are these two?"

"I'm Tanaka Ryūnosuke."

"And I'm Nishinoya Yū, her boyfriend." Nishinoya put far too much emphasis on his 'title' for it to have been anything other than a threat, but Bokuto didn't seem bothered in the slightest. In fact, he almost looked amused, probably because Nishinoya was about ten inches shorter than him. "Who are you?"

Bokuto pointed at his chest proudly with his thumb. "I'm Bokuto Kōtarō!"

It only took about a second for the information to sink in, and you sighed as the atmosphere changed around Nishinoya and Tanaka. They both stared at Bokuto in awe and you could see the way the latter's chest puffed up and he drew his shoulders back. Didn't they already know who he was...?

Thankfully, Akaashi came over to interrupt them. "Hello again," he said, giving you a polite nod that you returned with a smile. "Bokuto, let's get going. Coach Yamiji is going to have our heads if we take any longer to get inside."

"G-Geh!" Bokuto shuddered and turned back to you. "I'll see you inside, libero girl!"

"Wait." He froze in his tracks and looked over his shoulder. "How's your ankle healing up? I hope I did a good job wrapping it for you."

He was silent for a count of three. A soft and genuine smile spread across his face and he gave you an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "Good as new! I'll be able to wow you and Karasuno properly this time around. See ya!"

Nishinoya and Tanaka turned on you the moment Bokuto and Akaashi were out of earshot, endless questions streaming out of their mouths that you could barely comprehend. You were immensely thankful when Kiyoko and Yachi came over to walk with you to the girls' building, where you would be staying with the other managers. You quickly said goodbye to Nishinoya and Tanaka, albeit not without a kiss on the cheek for Nishinoya, and scurried off.

Yukie and the other managers were more than enthusiastic in their greetings when you arrived. "We have an entire week to hang out now!" she gushed as she led you, Kiyoko, and Yachi over to an empty spot on the floor. "I'm so excited to see how Karasuno's been coming along with their practices. You guys were so interesting to watch last time!"

Kaori laughed and put a hand on Yukie's shoulder. "Give them time to breathe," she teased. "They should be starting up the matches soon. Let's get going!"

You slung your medkit over your shoulder, along with a pair of volleyball shoes just in case, and followed the others into the gym. Fukurōdani was Karasuno's first opponent, with Shinzen and Ubugawa facing off on the other court. Eri and Mako headed over to their teams while Yukie and Kaori came with you and Karasuno's managers to your own game.

Nishinoya waved enthusiastically at you as you set your stuff down on the ground. "Watch me get a ton of sick receives!" he yelled. Next to you, Yachi stifled a laugh behind her hand and Kiyoko's shoulders dropped with an exasperated sigh.

You blew a kiss back. "Go get 'em, tiger!"

Even with all of your encouragement, Karasuno ended up losing against Fukurōdani, 12-25. You didn't quite consider it a total loss, though; everyone was trying out new things, like Asahi with his jump serve and a synchronized attack involving the entire team. Nishinoya almost got in a toss, but he jumped too far and flushed from embarrassment when Bokuto gawked at him.