'ʙɪᴛᴛᴇʀꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ /// ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ'

Part 18 - Potted Plants

Enjoy!

We lost. I cup my mouth with my hands as I stare at the boys. The first years are almost in tears, the second years to and as for the third years. Makki, Iwa and Mattsun look like they are gonna cry but Toru. He's standing up straight. We all stare at Karasuno cheer and congratulate each other.

The boys walk back to the Coaches and I and we all stand in a circle.

"No mate what I say, it won't change anything. And the  sting of defeat is not easily removed. There are bound to be some regrets but let me say one thing and never forget it. You all fought well." After Coach Irihata finishes the boys begin to cry except Toru and I look at them with sad eyes.

"Let's go thank everyone that came to support us." Toru says and we begin to walkout to the stands. Iwa stops in the middle of walking and the other 3rd years pause before we walk up to him Toru comes up behind him and slaps his back and Makki and Mattsun follow. Iwa's mad with himself, he couldn't land the shot we needed to win. I walk up to the boy and place my hand on his shoulder and look at him and smile softly.

"You played well Iwaizumi." I say and Iwa nods before giving me a hug and we both walk back to the line. We line up in front of the stands.

"Thank you all for coming!" We shout as we bow our heads. The guys start leaving the gym but the second years still stare off at Karasuno. I walk up to the 3 boys.

"There is next year. Train, train, and train until then. Practice is not over. Start a new team and build off from there. You guys will get to nationals I know it." I tell them and they nod.

"Thank you Y/N." Yahaba says and I nod.

"Don't thank me just go with the other guys." I instruct and they nod before waling off. I stay on the side of the court and watch Karasuno cheer each other on a little longer before I turn around where I am met with Toru who has his arm stretched out. I grab his hand and we walk to the gym exit before glancing at this court for the last time, when we got to compete. We look around the court before turning around and leaving. I wipe my eyes and keep my head up.

We are like our mascot, the sampling in the pot. We will continue to grow but as of right now we remain in our pot. The crows will fly off to the next match while we stay on the ground and watch from afar.

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I sit on a bench in the hallway as I flip through my managing note book. All of the moves and techniques I have kept track of, training regiments, schedules , plans all of it. After a few days I no longer need to carry this responsibility but I want to. I look down at myself and see my manager uniform. A white track suit with teal details like the guys but with manager at the back instead of the position I play. My phone rings and I answer.

"N/N, the bus is here." It's Toru's voice.

"Hey babe. Sorry I was just looking over somethings. See you in a sec." I say then hang up my phone.  I make my way to the exit  of Sendai City Gym in silence. I pass by an announcement board and I walk up to it and look. 

The next match is Shiratorizawa vs.Karasuno during school hours in 2 days. I guess I can skip one day of class to see it. Toru and Iwa will probably show up too, even if they say they don't want to so I'll grab them some snacks on the way. I stare at the announcement board and I feel myself getting sadder and sadder. It really is done. I feel someone walk beside me.

"L/N."

"Ushiwaka." I greet the boy who stepped  up next to me.

"I told Oikawa to come to Shiratorizawa and I said you should too. You could have managed a team that was certain to be victorious." He says and I scoff.

"Ushiwaka you really are a bastard. Aoba Josiah was my only option, it was the smartest choice. We have an excellent team." I scoff and look him in the eye. "I suppose you spoke to Toru already?" I sigh as I look back at the announcement board.

"I did, he had a similar reaction to you. If you came to Shiratorizawa you could have been with me." He continues and I chuckle.

"Even if I did go, I would still be with Toru. I love Toru more than anyone and he stuck by me always. No matter how many times you ask me to go out with you when we have matches together, my answer will always be no. I'm admire how  persistent  you are though." I say not looking at him and I hear him sigh. 

"I won't stop trying." He states and I sigh.

"Good luck tomorrow." I say.

"We won't need it." He quickly says and I roll my eyes.

"Cocky as always Ushiwaka.  My team was certain that we had this game and we lost by a margin. Crows are clever birds Ushiwaka. Remember, a large white eagle can be defeated by a murder of crows." I say as I stare into his eyes before walking off. "Good luck again. Take it if you want." I say as I wave my hand in the air.

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We just got ramen from Ma's and the 3rd years are all making their way back to home.

"Both teams were  playing a 120% which gets me even more mad because they still beat us." Toru says. "Iwa you should proud of yourself. The last spike you hit was at the perfect position and timing." He finishes turning to Iwa who stares blankly at him.

"THATS WHY I'M EVEN MORE PISSED! THAT SHOT WAS PERFECT AND I DIDN'T GET IT!"Iwa shouts. His face getting red.

"I AM MORE PISSED. I COULDN'T RECIEV THERE LAST HIT EVEN THOUGH I REACTED TO IT!" Toru shouts back.

"SHUT IT SHITTYKAWA!" Iwa says as he throws Toru causing him to spin.

"What a nice spin." Makki remarks.

We continue walking until we stop at the gym doors.

"I've got a key." I smile as I pull out the gym keys from my pocket.

"I thought we were going home." Mattsun says and I shrug my shoulders.

"Detours are always fun." I say and open the doors to the gym and turn on the lights. "Let's just have fun." I say.