Guardian (Nishinoya x Reader) 🏐

Chapter 12: The Pain

*Y/N's POV*

Karasuno won their first match, barely showing their full power. Right after, they were even able to take down date tech's iron wall. Now, they are against Aobajohsai, and are struggling more than ever, my brother especially. For the first set, Coach Ukai even replaced him with Suga for a bit to bring him back to his senses. He looked miserable and infuriated all at the same time. It was all because of his rivalry with Oikawa. Even though Tōru is an absolute angel to me, I can't comprehend why he had to be such a dick to my brother. Jealousy maybe? I'm not sure. But I'd give anything to break the tension between those two.

The game was now at set point with Aobajohsai in the lead. The suspense was killing me. Hinata jumped for the quick attack. I held my breath. Oh no... Hinata's spike was smashed directly into a wall of blockers. It was as if the game suddenly turned into slow motion. I watched as the ball deflected off the Aobajohsai players' hands. Noya, Asahi, and Tobio all dove for the ball. They were only inches away, but the ball slammed into the court right at the center of there fists.

No. After all their hard work. It can't end like this. The sound around me was muted as I tried to comprehend the situation. I turned to see the Aobajohsai team cheering and celebrating. I turned back to my own team. They looked distraught, scattered across the floor on their hands and knees. Blood, sweat, and tears cried out from the Karasuno side of the court.

They look so broken.
How do I pick up the pieces?
It hurts to see them this distraught...

I tried to grab their attention. Even just one of them, but they all walked past me. All, but one. Sugawara. "Just... give them some time Y/N. I know it's hurting you too. But they'll come around," he spoke softly, pulling me in for a hug. Was that a light sniffle I just heard?

He pulled away, quickly turning his face away from me. I gently placed my hand on his back. "Suga look at me. It's okay to cry. Crying isn't a sign of weakness." I spoke calmly to him.

He turned back to me and stood up straight, wiping away a stray tear from his puffy red cheeks. "You're right Y/N-Chan. And it's not over yet."

*Noya's POV*

It's my fault. It's all my fault. I wasn't there in time. I didn't have their backs.

At this point I felt nothing. My body and my emotions were numb. All I could do was stare straight ahead at the seat in front of me. I couldn't even close my eyes to rest. I felt Y/N pull my head down to her shoulder as she gently played with my hair. With her other hand, she searched for one of mine and intertwined our fingers, squeezing my hand tight to let me know she's there.

As the bus took off, Y/N placed one of her earbuds in my ear. I listened to the soft tempo and the touching lyrics. It was slow and calming. Allowing my eyelids to flutter closed, I continued to listen to the song quietly play. As it got to the chorus, I heard another voice faintly begin to sing. It sounded sweet and angelic. I relaxed and leaned further into Y/N. Her hand moved from my hair to around my shoulder. The sweet singing voice grew slightly louder as I snuggled closer to Y/N. Wait. Was Y/N singing? Right, Oikawa did mention something about that.

I opened my eyes and sat up straight to listen to Y/N sing along. When the song ended, she tugged out the earbuds and spoke, "I hope the song helped. I have a playlist of songs that I like to listen to when I'm feeling down or discouraged," she faintly smiled at me.

I placed the earbud back into my ear to listen more. Resting my head back on her shoulder and taking her hand in mine, I replied simply, "Thank you," but in my head all I could think was how much I appreciated what she was doing. She understood I was struggling, but wasn't ready to talk. So even when I wouldn't let her in, she found a way to comfort me, without even needing to say a word.