STONE HEARTS ❨ ushijima wakatoshi ❩

「 TWENTY ONE 」

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

Watanabe Hara couldn't believe it when her vice captain told her what happened with the boys' match. According to Sai, Tendou messaged her saying that the boys couldn't qualify for Nationals this time around.

"Maybe Tendou's bluffing?" Hara asked, turning to her vice captain as they were finally entering the school gates.

"I don't think so. But it's really hard to believe that they really lost against Karasuno. They wouldn't be advancing to the Nationals," Sai replied, making Hara clench her fists and excused herself so she could hurry to the gym.

The captain ignored the calls of her team, talking about meeting with the coach later before anything else. The boys and girls team had different times for their final matches so the coach was able to watch both, and had something to discuss with them. However, it seemed like the captain herself couldn't care less at the moment. The news of the boys losing was a shock in itself, knowing how hard they trained. They were extremely unlucky to be matched with Karasuno, the rising stars of the prefecture.

She knew how Ushijima would feel, whether he'd admit it or not. Deep down inside, she knows he also couldn't believe it himself that they actually lost. Hara wanted to tell herself that it was all a prank and that Tendou was just trying to set things up again, but something about Sai's seriousness told her that it was all real.

Once she stepped foot into the boys' gym, she saw scattered balls everywhere and some of the members still inside.

"Wakatoshi!" Hara called, then seeing the male stretching on the floor with Tendou who looked kind of down as well.

"Hara. What are you doing here?" Ushijima asked, surprised at the single tear that slipped down Hara's cheek. She knew how passionate Ushijima was about the game, and she never expected them to lose.

He sat up and immediately wrapped his arms around her, surprising the members who were still around them. If it was just another day, Ushijima wouldn't have shown them how he'd hug her and try to comfort her, be touchy, but it was different. She was crying in front of him, and he knew that he also needed that hug.

"Why are you crying, Hara?" Ushijima asked, holding her closer as her body shook from her uncontrollable crying.

"You lost to Karasuno. You told me you'd win," she started, gripping on the back of his shirt.

"Is that really Watahara? She's really crying?"

"Leave them be, Goshiki. Maybe she's been holding up these emotions for a while,"

"Right. Ushijima, too, I guess,"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't-"

"Don't apologize to me. I'm not mad at you or something. I'm just really surprised with the results. You've always represented the prefecture. You were the strongest, and it just seems unusual that you wouldn't be the one going to Nationals with... us. You might not show it, but I think you're sad and disappointed as well. I never cherished it that much, but you were my driving force, you made me want to get stronger, and now-"

"Shh, it's okay. Stop crying. I'm alright. Get yourself together. You're all over the place," Ushijima said, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

Due to the close proximity, both of them blushed but neither pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Hara replied, standing up from her kneeling position when she was hugged by the other captain. "I'm overreacting a bit, aren't I?"

"Oya, Wakatoshi and Hara, I didn't know a loss is what it takes to get you all touchy," Tendou teased, making both captains freeze.

They completely forgot that they were still around some of his team members. But somehow, Ushijima started not to care.

If he loved her, he shouldn't be ashamed of it, right? So what, if they laugh and tease them? He waited so long to actually cherish her, although he hadn't realized it until they pointed it out. He did so many things that he didn't know affected her, but he was happy that everything turned out to them dating in the end. Whether he admitted it or not, he couldn't imagine himself being with someone other than Watanabe Hara. If not her, he'd rather be alone.

"Win. Win as many matches as you can, and then come back to tell me how great it felt. I'll be watching you and supporting you," Ushijima said, looking straight into Hara's eyes. "You're strong, and still strives to be stronger. That's what a champion should be. I like that quality of yours."

Biting her lower lip, she nodded and then excused herself for their team's meeting.

As she ran away from the gym where the guys were, she clenched her fists. She will fight not only for her team, but also for Ushijima's. She will make the school Shiratorizawa known across the nation as the school who continuously won and became the strongest.

She wouldn't give up without putting a good fight, especially after what Ushijima just said.

"Captain! Why are your eyes red?"

"Oh, the beauty of young love. She shared such intense feelings with Ushijima-"

"AKARI!"

"SORRY, CAPTAIN!"

Don't worry, Wakatoshi. I'll win this for us.