solid | tsukishima kei

nine.

Tsukishima paused as he went to the club room. Yamaguchi bumped right into him but Tsukishima disregarded his friend's questioning words. Yamaguchi followed Tsukishima's gaze and he also paused. Sitting alone under a tree was Takahashi. Her head leaned on the tree, her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the sky aimlessly, lost in her own thoughts.

Exchanging glances, Yamaguchi nudged Tsukishima.

"What?" Tsukishima asked.

"Go talk to her," Yamaguchi said.

"We'll be late," Tsukishima replied.

"Come on, Tsukki," Yamaguchi pressured, "She's your friend, isn't she more important than one day of practice?"

Tsukishima flinched and turned to Yamaguchi with a frown, "I never said volleyball was more important than her," he glanced at Takahashi again before looking toward the gym and finally sighed, "Tell coach I'm going to be late," he said and started making his way over to the lonely tree.

As he got closer, Tsukishima noticed how far away Takahashi's gaze was. It was similar to what she looked like when walking home with Kiko the day Tsukishima had called her out for not standing up for herself when she got bullied. The faraway, dazed look on her face created a sharp tension in Tsukishima's chest.

Takahashi didn't notice him as Tsukishima stepped in front of her and bent down. She stared at the clear blue sky, lost in her own world until Tsukishima poked her in the cheek. She flinched a bit before her eyes cleared up and they focused on Tsukishima.

"Oh," Takahashi said and a smile appeared on her face, "Hi, Tsukki,"

He stared at her smile for a moment and frowned. She's faking it. He thought and poked her in the face again, "Why are you smiling? I haven't done anything," he moved himself to sit next to her, leaning against the tree and letting his legs stretch out.

Takahashi leaned forward to look at Tsukishima's face with the same smile, "I thought you had practice so it's a nice surprise to see you,"

"I thought you had to pick up Kiko after school," Tsukishima replied in turn but immediately regretted it seeing Takahashi's face fall a bit. She leaned back against the tree and Tsukishima opened his mouth to say more.

"My sister is working from home today," Takahashi replied before Tsukishima could say more, she pulled her legs to her chest and went quiet.

Not one to be great with sympathetic words or anything of the sort, Tsukishima shifted a bit awkwardly before looking at Takahashi sideways and letting out a gentle sigh. He opened his mouth to say something to her but once again Takahashi cut him off.

"I'm fine if you're wondering," she said and gave the same smile as before, "Really, Tsukishima, don't worry about me,"

He paused before he gave off a weak scoff, "I never said I was worried,"

Takahashi hummed, "You looked worried," she stood up and dusted off her skirt before waving at Tsukishima, "I'll be heading out now. I should still go home to help out a bit, I'll see you around, Tsukki,"

"Right," Tsukishima said and watched as she disappeared outside the gate. He frowned and shook his head, "Something's wrong," he stood up and started to make his way to the club room only to be stopped in his tracks. His fists clenched together and he gritted his teeth.

"Tsukishima," Akita purred, "Let's talk for a bit,"

"No thanks," Tsukishima replied easily and started to walk past her. He could hear her laugh as he went by but he didn't stop until he heard her next words. He froze and turned around, looking down at Akita with an incredulous look in his eyes. "What did you say?"