always...

chapter 88 - daichi & suga

daichi was first in the gym yet again.

by the time suga, asahi, and kiyoko had arrived, the captain had already set up the net, gotten the cart out, and refilled all the extra water bottles.

the temperature in the gym had already been adjusted to accommodate for the bitter, freezing cold outside, and daichi was already beginning to warm up and stretch.

as the rest of the team slowly trickled in, suga noticed how daichi greeted everyone while they got ready for practice.

he was more...outgoing and vocal lately.

while suga sat on the bench and took notes on everyone's progress, he couldn't help but overhear daichi's voice standing out amongst the calls of the team.

the karasuno captain was active and responsible, dishing out advice to his teammates when he could and acting more like the foundation the team initially knew him to be.

it was refreshing, honestly.

after months of him being silent, closed off, and uncooperative, it was like daichi was slowly reverting to his usual self: the reliable and supportive leader of karasuno. he no longer came into practice hungover and half asleep.

instead, he was always eager and ready to go.

suga took notice of this, curious as to how he had started to change so much so soon.

it puzzled him really, seeing daichi almost return to his old self.

nowadays, while daichi was very social during practice, he still seemed to isolate himself during school and classes. he mostly kept to himself and suga found himself almost wishing that the captain would try to talk to him again.

he hasn't tried offering to walk with me to class or carry my stuff since that last time...maybe he's embarrassed about what he said? or maybe it's me? maybe he's afraid of what i'll say to him next? maybe it's-

"sugawara! did you catch that last play? i couldn't see the line well," daichi called out from across the court, snapping suga out of his thoughts.

"i didn't see! sorry!" suga cringed, knowing very well that he should have been paying attention to the game in front of him.

i need to focus...stop worrying about him!

suga shook his head and ran his hand through his gray hair, tugging at the strands slightly in attempts to surface his mind out of his swirling thoughts.

suga continued jotting down notes and strategies that the team used and how well they worked. he also took a few minutes coming up with a few new hand signals for hinata and kageyama to use for their different quick attacks.

recently, the tension and drama within the team had subsided. daichi and suga still didn't talk much, but at least daichi seemed to be making an effort towards doing better for the team.

tanaka and kiyoko, ennoshita and yachi, and kageyama and hinata were each bound at the waist. all three couples seemed happier and closer than ever.

sure, kageyama and hinata would still bicker now and then, but they always resolved their petty arguments and ended up practicing late into the evening after school every day.

while noya was also in a happy relationship, he didn't have the same luxury of having his partner with him all the time since yaku was all the way in tokyo.

sometimes, suga noticed a look of longing in the libero's expression as he stared on at the other team couples, but he always seemed to shake it off, immediately texting the nekoma third year after practice and chatting away.

once practice had ended, daichi left the net up for kageyama and hinata and rushed toward the club room to retrieve his bags.

suga wanted to ask him a few questions about next practice and about tweaking some of their strategies, but daichi was out the door before he could stop him for even a second.

suga hobbled out of the gym and waited by the club room so he could catch the captain on his way out. he tapped his shoe anxiously, staring down at the cast that encased his right leg and noticing how swollen his right foot had become.

suddenly, daichi came jogging out of the room, both his school and gym bags slung over his shoulders, almost running into suga and knocking him over.

daichi halted to a stop and adjusted the straps of his bags.

"hey! kō-i mean, sugawara! umm...did you need something from me?" the captain asked hurriedly, glancing at his phone screen to check the time.

"yeah actually, i wanted to talk to you about planning next practice and tweaking some of our plays," suga began to pull out his pocket notebook.

"i-i hate to do this, but do you mind if we talk about it later? maybe text or call me or something?" daichi became more flustered.

"oh? are you sure? i just figured it would be easier to discuss in person," suga answered, not noticing the hint of disappointment in his tone.

"i'm really sorry, i-i'm just kind of in a rush," daichi admitted, looking over suga's shoulder toward the street.

"shit! sorry! i didn't mean to hold you up...um, where are you going?" suga tilted his head slightly, "if you don't mind me asking, sorry."

"oh, uhh...i have an uh...an appointment..." daichi mumbled, staring down at the ground.

"an appointment?" suga repeated.

"yeah..." daichi glanced toward the street again.

"like the dentist or the doctor?" suga's curiosity got the best of him.

a large bus pulled over to the stop that stood at the end of the karasuno parking lot. it screeched to a hard stop as its doors folded open and the exhaust clouded behind the vehicle. the hum of the engine vibrated the pavement slightly, waves of heat radiating from underneath.

daichi pivoted on his heel about to break into jog to catch the bus before he turned back around to answer suga's question.

"...therapy, actually."