𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 ༉‧₊˚✧ 𝐰. 𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐚

o n e

01: the tutor

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

just five more minutes, you thought to yourself as you checked the clock at the back of the classroom. you loved your chemistry class. you even loved your teacher. however, like almost every other third year student at shiratorizawa academy, you were experiencing major burnout. 

you weren't accepted into the academy for your athletic ability, but rather your academic prowess. you were never much of an athlete, however you excelled in school since childhood. your brain was wired for subjects in the stem field. you excelled in maths and the sciences, always finding the concrete concepts easier to understand than the abstract ideas of english and other humanities. that being said, you had started zoning out about twenty minutes ago when your chemistry teacher, mr.sakaguchi, decided to spend the remainder of class reteaching redox reactions and going over the last exam, which you had aced. 

finally, the bell rang after what seemed like the longest five minutes of your life. you began packing your school supplies into your bag before your teacher called out to you. 

"l/n. ushijima," he spoke out over the rustling of students eager to leave, "please stay after class for a minute. i need to speak to you both."

you nodded while a few of shiratorizawa's less mature students let out an almost rehearsed "oooh~," as if you and the school's powerhouse were about to get into trouble.

you began to think of all the possibilities as to why your teacher had asked you to stay after class, only resulting in more confusion when you couldn't think of any. you looked over at the other name your teacher had called, ushijima wakatoshi. 

what could mr. saka possibly want that involves me and him? you thought to yourself. you met ushijima during your first year of junior high. since then, your relationship had never surpassed that of mere classmates who occasionally spoke during group projects or about assigned homework. despite the grandeur of his reputation, he was a man of few words. with the volleyball club being the school's most successful sport, you had always respected ushijima for remaining seemingly humble despite the fact that his face was plastered all over your school's brochures and hallways. 

you watched as he packed his belongings, slinging his school bag onto his shoulder. he began walking towards the teacher's desk, never noticing your gaze. you swallowed the lump that you didn't realize was in your throat and followed suit, grabbing your bag and walking over to mr. sakaguchi. 

you smiled at your teacher as you approached his desk. you noticed the height difference between you and ushijima. it was hard not to notice his impressive stature. you never considered yourself short by any means, but it was hard not to feel small next to someone as tall and as strong as him. 

"l/n," your teacher called out, breaking you from your trance as you had found yourself staring at ushijima once again. mr. sakaguchi returned the smile as you focused your attention on him. "as i was saying, both of you know the expectations that this academy has for its students. i don't need to remind you of that. i understand that both of you have your own extracurriculars and busy schedules, but at least once a week, i'd like for you, l/n, to tutor ushijima."

you couldn't help how your mouth opened the slightest bit or how your eyes widened in surprise. you turned your head over to look up at ushijima. his expression remained unchanged, but you noticed how his eyebrows furrowed the tiniest bit. 

"ushijima, i've noticed that your performance on tests has been declining, and while your current grade is nothing to worry about, i don't want this trend to continue," your teacher continued. you fiddled with your fingers and stared at the scuffs on your shoes as mr. sakaguchi spoke, feeling as if you were invading ushijima's privacy by hearing this conversation. "you know better than me what your gpa needs to be in order to remain on a sports club, so i'm hoping to help you boost your grade before we get to the point of academic probation."

"i understand," ushijima responded. he spoke softly despite how clear and sharp his voice was. 

mr. sakaguchi grinned in response before turning to you once again. "l/n is one of my top students. in fact, one of the top students in the entire academy." you smiled politely at his compliment despite feeling awkward at the praise considering his previous words to your classmate. "clearly, whatever study method you have works for you. so i'm hoping you can help out your fellow classmate. is that okay with the both of you?"

"of course," you affirmed. you could tell from mr. sakaguchi's tone that he wasn't really asking, more like telling you both that you didn't have any other option.

meanwhile, ushijima only nodded. 

"perfect. i'll leave you two to figure out the details. you're both dismissed." mr. sakaguchi waved his hands and began shuffling through the messy stack of ungraded papers on his desk. both you and ushijima said your farewells to your teacher and exited the classroom. ushijima walked ahead of you, and again you found yourself staring at his broad back. 

once in the hallway, he turned around to face you. for the first time today, he made direct eye contact with you. despite how intimidating his strong stature and olive-colored eagle eyes were, you couldn't help but notice how there was a certain calmness about him. 

"thank you for agreeing to tutor me."

"oh," you stuttered in surprise. "it's really no problem. do you want to exchange numbers? to coordinate plans?"

he nodded in agreement instead of speaking, wordlessly pulling out his phone and handing it to you. you copied the gesture, grabbing your phone from your bag and handing it to him.

"when are you available?" 

"i have yearbook afterschool on wednesday and thursday, and medical club on monday," you began, thinking out loud. "so wednesday and friday? but who wants to study on a friday... so does tuesday work for you?"

ushijima watched you closely as you responded. you never quite stood still. your eyes darted around as if you were searching for your next thought inside your head as you spoke. if your eyes met his, then you were shifting your weight from one foot to another, or playing with the strap of your bag, or repeatedly tucking the same strand of hair that refused to stay put behind your ear. 

"yes. i will see you then," he confirmed before swiftly turning around.

you tilted your head as he walked away, remaining in the same spot. you noticed how his hands flexed as he got further down the hall. your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. you didn't discuss a specific time or even a location, meaning you would have to text him later to confirm the details. you looked down at your phone, seeing ushijima's contact information. 

ushijima wakatoshi, you thought to yourself, i guess i'm your tutor now.

.・゜-: ✧ :-　　-: ✧ :-゜・．

a/n 

this has been in the drafts for genuinely three years and i never even finished this story...  but as you can clearly tell i am REGRESSING and i have decided to actually write this.