lend me your ears | bokuto kotaro

2 ' the ace

"Hoshi-san, I'm going to my practice match now. We're done here, right?" Bokuto said as he placed the washcloths back at the drawer.

"Yes," she answered with a nod, "You train, Bokuto-san?" she tried to converse with him.

"I train?" He tilted his head. "Ah, I'm the captain and ace of the volleyball team!"

"Oh," she mouthed, fascination written all over her face, "Wow."

"Cool, right? The ace is the best!" he flaunted, smiling.

"Very cool," she agreed and nodded.

"You want to watch me play?" he offered.

She felt her heart race in nervousness upon hearing his invitation. For the two weeks she had transferred, no one bothered talking to her, and now, all of a sudden, she's making a new friend.

"You don't want to?" he asked, his smile quickly turning into a pout.

"I, I want to," she blurted out and gave him a thumbs up, though quite shaky, "I thought the volleyball team didn't have a match though."

"I just didn't want them to use us as an excuse. Anyway, let's go!" he exclaimed and grabbed his bag unto his shoulders.

She was red from ear to ear, giddy and fidgety. She went along with it and hung her bag as well, and followed him to the gym.

"Do you play sports, Hoshi-san?" he asked as they walked to the gym. Contrary to Bokuto's carefree nature, Hoshino's mind was going blank from overthinking about the situation. She worried it was some sort of prank, or that she was getting toyed with again.

"I don't," she still answered.

"Really? Then what do you do as a hobby?" he inquired. They were just a few meters away from the gym entrance, where he saw Akaashi and Suzumeda waiting.

"Akaashi! Suzumeda-san!" he called out and waves excitedly.

"Oh? He brought a girl with him?" Suzumeda whispered to Akaashi, "That's a first. Could it be?"

"Hey, is Boku-" Shirofuku asked as she exited from the gym then paused upon seeing the two. "Oh, there you are. And, Hoshino-san?" she recognized the shorter girl.

"You know each other, Yukie-chan?" Suzumeda asked.

"Yeah, we're classmates."

"Anyway, Bokuto-san, it's almost starting," Akaashi informed.

"Yes, yes, I'll go get changed," Bokuto told him. "Also, this is Hoshi-san," he introduces.

"H-hello, I'm Hoshino Nanao," she introduces herself.

"Hello. I'm Akaashi Keiji. I'm also the vice-captain."

"I'm Suzumeda Kaori, I'm the manager."

"She's my friend so, she can watch our practice match, right?" Bokuto asked as the five of them enter the gym.

"Yes, yes," Suzumeda permitted, "Now go get changed, Bokuto-san."

"As for you, Hoshino-san, you can watch next to us, in that bench," she added and pointed to the seat near the corner.

"Okay," she mumbled and followed the girl. "Do, do your best, Bokuto-san," she added before they parted ways. It hyped Bokuto and Akaashi took note of this in his head, "Getting cheered by his classmate energizes him."

"Are you new here?" Suzumeda asked after taking a seat next to her.

"Yes," she answered quickly.

"Oh, and you're a third year?"

"Yes."

"You're classmates with him, right?"

"Yes." It was beginning to feel awkward for her, Hoshino had no idea how to keep the conversation going.

"He doesn't really bring girls to his practice, so I'm just curious. Hope you don't mind me asking, heh," she continued.

"I don't mind," Hoshino reassured.

After Bokuto got changed, the game started and Hoshino observed the other team, Nekoma. She was also clueless with volleyball, any sports in general actually, and every move from both teams entertained her well.

The two teams were almost equal in skill and power, but Bokuto was getting blocked more often and from afar, she could guess that his mood was rapidly changing. The burden fell on Akaashi's back and he tried to think of ways to cheer him up.

"Akaashi," Bokuto cried out his name, "How do I do a cross again?"

Akaashi quickly recognized this weakness, number 37, to be exact.

"Should we sub him for now?" Washio suggested to the vice-captain.

"Bokuto-san, you should take a break first," Akaashi accepted the suggestion.

"Hey ace, your friend just commented on how cool you are," Suzumeda told him as she approached. Bokuto looked at Hoshino to confirm and not knowing what to do with the eye contact, she nervously showed him another thumbs up.

"Do you think that worked?" Suzumeda whispered to Akaashi, who was observing the ace's reaction.

Bokuto giggled like a child, completely out of his "emo mode." "Hey, hey, hey!" he raised his voice, and the others followed with a less enthusiastic, "hey, hey, hey."

The time-out ended shortly after and Bokuto reverted back to his usual energetic self. He was finally able to get his spikes through without getting blocked, which tripled his enthusiasm for the game. It called for trouble for Nekoma and they soon had to cut his momentum through a time-out.

"Did you see that, Hoshi-san? Cool, right?" he showed off and sat next to her.

"Yes," she answered and nodded, "Bokuto-san is very cool."