Haikyuu Creature Collection

Cheer You On 3 (Taichi Kawanishi)

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer... That's how the old saying goes, right?

Even though I'd said that I wouldn't until she was gone, I joined up with the cheerleading club. If she was trying to get all cozy with Taichi, then I was gonna make that all the much harder.

Of course, there was still the threat of expulsion hanging over my head. If I slipped up even once, everything was over. Sure, I could easily get into some other school, but getting expelled was not a mark I wanted on my record. So for now, I'll behave... but I sure as hell wasn't backing down.

Kill them with kindness, or so I figured. To her face, I'd act like just a sweet little first year... and I'd endure all the bullshit extra things that she'd force me to do. Extra running... double the usual training drills... even cleaning up all on my own... I endured it all, and when her back was turned, I began to turn the others against her.

They were all under the impression that I'd always been the villain... but oh no, no... I was far from the villain here. Some began to see it right away... tipped off by the way she always made me do extra work, even from the very start. She claimed that it was because I'd been slacking... but the minute I actually did anything, it was quite clear that even if I'd been alone, I'd still practiced just as hard.

Of course, some were never going to turn on her... no, they were her "friends." Honestly, I'm pretty sure it was more to do with the fact that I was a vampire. My kind isn't very well-liked...

It wasn't easy, but I was making do. Taichi still wouldn't talk to me, but there were a couple of times I managed to catch his eye. It was only ever for a second and only ever when I chased the captain away. It was getting to be quite comical how many times she fell for the same old trick.

"Hey, Kenta is looking for you. "

She'd roll her eyes and ignore me. "He can wait. I'm talking with Kawanishi."

I'd always shrug. "Okay... I guess I'll just go keep him company~ He was asking me about vampire bites earlier anyways~"

She'd always tensed at that and quickly run off, even if only to keep me away from her boyfriend.  I had zero interest in him of course, but she didn't need to know that.

Taichi never stuck around to talk to me though... and while that hurt, I was always just relieved that she couldn't have him. Sure, I'd be upset if he ever took interest in any girl, but she was the one girl that I absolutely couldn't let have him...

Things were still rather tense, but they were going well. That is, until there came a practice match for Taichi and the rest of the team. We weren't officially going to be cheering, since it wasn't an official match or anything, but we all came to watch anyways. It was practice for us too, since we'd all need to be sure we knew everyone's names for when it came time for the tournaments.

The game wasn't anything special, really. The other team was either some college team or one from some other prefecture... I didn't particularly care what team they were. The only reason I really wanted to be here was to get to see Taichi play.

I'll admit, I wasn't really paying any attention to the match itself. While my eye was drawn to the ball every now and then, my gaze rarely left him. He's still mad at me, I know it... but if I could only talk to him... even just once... maybe I could at least tell him how I felt. Any chance I'd had was probably long gone by now, but I could at least get some closure by confessing... Ugh... who would have thought that I would ever even think about confessing to some guy? But... Taichi... he's not just some guy... he never has been...

My thoughts are cut off rather abruptly by the happenings down on the court. I think at that moment, my heart stopped. A collision. While it's not uncommon, it's never good... One of the two gets up almost right away, seemingly alright... the other didn't seem so lucky...

Immediately I go to rush down there, but before I can get more than a few steps, my arm is grabbed. "Take one more step and I'll make sure you're expelled," she hissed, just loud enough that only I can hear.

It's not some empty threat... I know her too well to even consider that possibility... No, that for sure is a promise... and it's enough to make me freeze in my tracks.

Shiratorizawa has always been home to me... To think about losing that... and to think about everything that I'd be forced to leave behind... to know I'll never get to see any of it again... it's terrifying.

Is that really what you want?

The minute he's out of the gym, I've made up my mind. Fuck the consequences. I shoved her to the side and rushed after him.

By the time I caught up, he'd been sat down in the infirmary, one of his teammates beside him. That one was Semi, the 3rd year setter that Shirabu replaced...

He approached me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Keep an eye on him for a minute, will ya? Make sure he stays awake while I find the nurse to take a look." He flashed me a look... did he know? Maybe this was him trying to help. Not likely, but a girl can dream, right?

As he left us, I moved closer to Taichi. He's probably still mad at me, but that's the last thing on my mind right now. As I stop in front of him, he turns his gaze to me, eyes widening just slightly.

"Taichi..." Ah... my voice is shaky... I never thought I'd feel nervous like this... or maybe I'm just that worried... "I... are you okay?" Real smooth... of course he's not okay, dumbass!

He brought a hand to his head. "I... hit my head really hard... Feels like it was hit by a truck..." He flinched a bit, rubbing his forehead. "Nothing feels broken though... I think I'm alright."

Letting out a sigh, I collapsed to my knees on the floor. "Taichi... don't scare me like that..." I sniffled a little, my eyes tearing up. How pathetic, crying over a guy... Even it's only because I was relieved that he didn't seem nearly as hurt as I'd been afraid of.

He looked away slightly, looking at the floor. "I thought you said you weren't going to join them... what made you do it?"

Trying to change the subject, huh? "I... It pissed me off that she kept talking to you... I... I didn't want her to get close to you..." It was petty and childish, but could you really blame me?

"So you really were doing it on purpose... I thought it was weird that it's was always the same excuse..." He... he could tell? I'd thought I'd been pretty subtle about it, but maybe that hadn't been the case... "Why? Didn't you say you weren't into wolves?"

"I didn't mean it!" That was louder than I meant it to be... "I... I wanted to take it back as soon as I'd said it..." I gripped his hand with both of mine. I wonder... can he feel my hands shaking? "Even if it had been true... I... It wouldn't mean I hated you... You're... you're special... Taichi's attention is the only attention I've ever wanted... I... I don't... I don't want you to hate me..."

Never in my life had I ever felt so embarrassed... so vulnerable... If he wanted to, all it would take to break me would be a single word... If he told me he hated me, it would be too much for my heart to take... but that's not what happened.

Taichi never said that he hated me... he didn't push me away... Instead, he pulled me forward and wrapped his arms around me. "Could you really not tell...? The whole team pretty much figured it out already..." He petted my head lightly. "I was kind of worried that maybe you were only messing with me..."

I started to smile, but it faded when I thought back to only moments ago. "It might not matter much now though... I... I'm probably going to end up getting kicked out... she'll make sure of it... She always gets her way... but... at least... at least I got to tell you..."

"So what if you do? It's not like we can't still date even if you're at a different school."

I tilted my head to look up at him. "Date?"

"You're not gonna say no, right?"