effervescent (nishinoya yū)

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT / the relief

The next day, you headed over to Karasuno, trying your best to make yourself look presentable. You had barely gotten any rest the night before, falling asleep just before the sun started rising and waking up about an hour later, so it was all you could do to keep yourself on your feet.

When you got there, the doors to the gymnasium were open. You patted your hair down and fixed your clothes. You hadn't bothered changing out of the clothes you fell asleep in, which was definitely a bad idea, but you had the wherewithal to at least put deodorant on and brush your teeth. Hopefully it wouldn't be too noticeable...

Ukai was the first one to spot you. He hurried over to you and put a hand on your shoulder. "Your dad told me about what happened to your mom," he said in a low voice, an unusual amount of concern in his eyes. "You alright?"

Even though it was such a simple question, the fact that he even bothered to check in on you made you feel a little better. "Yeah," you admitted. "Just exhausted, but I'll be able to help out today, don't worry."

"Well, luckily we're only doing a small practice," Ukai said. He awkwardly patted your shoulder a few times and turned around. "Alright everyone, let's get started!"

You were definitely out of your game today. None of the balls hit in your direction got past you, but your legs felt like they were filled with sand and your eyelids were heavy. You knew the others could see what was going on, but no one stopped to ask what was going on, and you weren't sure if you were glad or a little upset by it. It's just because we're in the middle of practice, you reassured yourself as you received Tanaka's spike.

Your self-reassurance proved to be right. The moment practice paused for a lunch break, Hinata didn't hesitate to come over to you. "Are you okay?" he blurted out. "You were really off during that whole practice! It was really weird, you didn't have the 'zoom' or 'pom' that you usually do."

"Idiot," Kageyama snapped, grabbing Hinata's head and shaking him. "You seriously have no tact whatsoever!"

"It's not like you're much better yourself, King Kageyama," Tsukishima goaded with a smirk, Yamaguchi stifling a laugh next to him. "After all, when was the last time you were ever able to hold a conversation with a girl before she started crying, hmm?"

"What was that, Tsukishima?!" Kageyama pushed Hinata to the side and got up in Tsukishima's face, the two first-years engaging in a angry staring contest that was only interrupted by Sawamura yelling at them.

Yachi came up to your side and put a hand on your arm. "D-Do you want me to scare them off?" she asked, her voice trembling just from the mere thought. "Because I can if you--"

She cut herself off out of nowhere, the absence of sound enough to make the others look over in confusion. Their confusion immediately changed into horror the moment they realized that tears were streaming down your cheeks. You raised a hand to your face, confirming your fears, and you buried your face in your hands to hide yourself.

Yamaguchi, Yachi, Hinata, and Asahi all began panicking, waving their hands around while asking if you were okay. Sugawara, Sawamura, and Ennoshita came over to you, far calmer than the others, while Tanaka and Nishinoya ran around, presumably trying to find tissues or something to help.

The sheer absurdity of it all made you let out a laugh that quickly turned into a hiccup. "Why are you guys panicking so much?" you asked, scrubbing furiously at your face, ashamed that you had started crying in front of them. "It's just tears, it's not that big of a deal."

"You never cry though," Tsukishima said. "It's like seeing Nishinoya or Tanaka crying. Which we have seen before..." He trailed off and laughed as the two second-years in question shot him death glares from across the gym, seeming as though they were seconds away from attacking.