tokyo training camp ★ | haikyuu.

five 🏐

The Kurokishi volleyball team had two more matches after Karasuno. They lost against Shinzen, 2-1, and won against Ubugawa, 2-0—theirs was also the last match of the day. By the second half of the Shinzen match, Nagatsuka and Yasutomo finally arrived at the camp. Both boys appeared to be flushed, evident that they rushed to get there.

Miyako decided on letting their regular libero, Nagatsuka, play on the Shinzen match since he insisted on warming up shortly upon arriving. Since the two schools were the last ones playing, the remaining schools stayed back in the gym to watch. It was already dark out when the game ended.

Everyone was tasked to clean the gym before they can go back to their respective dorm rooms. Nekoma High, as the host school, invited everybody for dinner at the school cafeteria after everything's sorted out in the gym and also once the teams got a little bit of rest.

Miyako was helping Haruki untangle the net from the posts when he heard Hiroshi's voice in full volume. One minute ago she just saw the middle blocker bounding to the supply room with Tomohide on tow as they pushed the cart of volleyballs.

"Bokuto-saaan!"

"Hiroshi-saaan!"

And the two halves of a whole single brain cell finally reunited. Miyako took a deep breath. She excused herself from Haruki and told him that she'll be back in a second. She then turned to where the giant second year was and stalked towards him.

It was fascinating how the voices of two people can fill up a whole gymnasium. The other teams were looking over them, amused at the increasingly animated conversation of the two players, while Fukurodani and Kurokishi tried their very best not to get associated with the chatterboxes—Bokuto and Hiroshi wearing their respective teams' jacket didn't help with that. Hiroshi was in the middle of an exaggerated reenactment of a block when Miyako appeared behind him.

"Miyako!" Bokuto exclaimed once she saw her. The girl nodded once and smiled at him but then squinted when the Kurokishi middle blocker turned to her.

"You two can continue this over dinner later. You," she pointed at Hiroshi and then grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, "those water bottles aren't going to collect themselves, are they?"

"But I already told Uchida-kun to take care of it!" He only got shushed and, in a blink, was being dragged to the other side of the gym where his team was. Hiroshi resisted, using his height advantage to anchor himself to the floor—he even clung to Bokuto for added support.

The Fukurodani captain laughed, enjoying the show. He pulled lightly on Hiroshi to tease Miyako. He then felt a hand on his shoulder and when he tilted his head to look at the owner, he saw Akaashi.

"Bokuto-san," the vice-captain said in his usual monotone voice. "Coach is looking for you."

Miyako stopped tugging when she heard Akaashi. Her thoughts immediately went to that night he found her outside the gymnasium, almost freezing to death. She stopped herself from shivering as she remember the chill and from realizing how stupid she was then. When their eyes met, the boy dipped his head lightly, both an acknowledgement and apology for his team's captain.

Akaashi, with great effort, finally pried Bokuto from the Kurokishi middle blocker. He was about to haul him back to their team when he heard Miyako call him. Even Bokuto stopped struggling from his hold, the two of them looking at her.

"Can I talk to you before dinner? I want to return something." Miyako made sure to put that item in her bag before she left the house and even checked once she arrived in the dorm room earlier. It hasn't really been that long since that night but she didn't feel comfortable holding onto it for longer.